Rejected

Over two million Americans visit the doctor each year for foot and ankle pain stemming from a degenerative condition or injury. Ankle-foot orthoses can effectively manage symptoms, but traditional designs have limitations. This study investigates the acute impact of a novel "dynamic ankle-foot orthosis" ("orthosis") in populations with mechanical pain (from motion or weight-bearing).

Tonsillectomy (with or without adenoidectomy) is a common pediatric surgical procedure requiring post-operative analgesia. Because of the respiratory depression effects of opioids, clinicians strive to limit the use of these drugs for analgesia post-tonsillectomy. The objective of this study was to identify demographic and medication use patterns predictive of persistent opioid dispensing (as a proxy for opioid use) to pediatric patients post-tonsillectomy.

Evidence from both basic and clinical science suggests that neuropathic pain can induce cognitive dysfunction. However, these results are mainly based on a series of behavioral tests, there is a lack of quantitative variables to indicate cognitive impairment. Neuronal activity-regulated pentraxin (NPTX2) is a ubiquitously expressed, secreted protein in the nervous system. NPTX2 has been implicated to be involved in a variety of neuropathic diseases including Parkinson's disease, ischemia, and Alzheimer's disease. In a mouse model of chronic pain, NPTX2 is involved in the regulation of inflammatory responses. Here, we employ a variety of behavioral approaches to demonstrate that mice with chronic neuropathic pain have cognitive impairment and exhibit an increased anxiety response. The expression of NPTX2, but not NPTX1, was down-regulated in the hippocampus and cortex after chronic neuropathic pain exposure. The modulation effect of NPTX2 on cognitive function was also verified by behavioral tests using Nptx2 knock-out mice. Above all, we conclude that downregulation of NPTX2 induced by neuropathic pain may serve as an indicator of a progressive cognitive dysfunction during the induction and maintenance of spared nerve injury.

Significant developments were published in 2020 in the field of blood biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease. Several studies helped to define more accurately the management of status epilepticus and of epilepsy in women of childbearing age. The new Swiss guidelines for the pre-hospital management of acute stroke were issued, as are new targets for stroke prevention. Numerous advances concerning the management of NMO-SD (NeuroMyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder) were published. Different neurological presentations linked to the COVID-19 pandemic were described (central and peripheral). Several studies confirmed the effectiveness of new migraine treatments (including anti-CGRP). New pharmacological therapies are available for Parkinson's disease.

Scientific research in integrative medicine has undergone significant development in recent years. Several studies published in 2020 focus on the management of chronic pain. Hypnosis has been shown to be as effective in analgesia as cognitive-behavioral therapy and therapeutic education. A study on chronic low back pain showed lower health care costs for patients using complementary medicine. Furthermore, the hypothesis of super responders to acupuncture treatment does not seem to be confirmed. Yoga could be a useful approach in the prevention of migraines. With respect to the management of COVID-19, the addition of traditional Chinese medicine to conventional treatments could reduce a number of symptoms and the length of hospital stays, although the quality of data is limited.

Fatigue is commonly associated with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). However, information about its prevalence and associated factors is sparse. The primary objective here was to find the prevalence and magnitude of PsA fatigue. The secondary objective was to explore its associated risk factors, particularly emphasis on the effect of disease activity control.

Iatrogenic injury to the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve (IPBSN) is an uncommon but important complication of both open and arthroscopic procedures causing neuropathic pain symptoms in the anteromedial aspect of the knee. Whilst the use of ultrasound in the assessment of peripheral neuropathies is well-established, sonographic knowledge in the routine assessment of the IPBSN remains poor. We describe the sonographic assessment of the IPBSN by means of a review article, promulgating radiology's role in providing anatomical information pertaining to the IPBSN and its relationship to adjacent anatomical structures, surgical fixations or fibrous scar tissue.

Though a large amount of research on the management of headache has been conducted, the clinical effectiveness of these treatments remains unclear.

Subgroups of people with low back pain display differences in their lumbar alignment during tests from a clinical examination. However, it is unknown if subgroups display the same patterns during a functional activity test and if gender influences subgroup-related differences.

The opioid epidemic is a significant public health crisis that is often linked to chronic pain management. One ensuing consequence of long-term opioid use for chronic pain is a high potential for opioid misuse and dependence. Although tobacco is commonly used among individuals with chronic pain, it is associated with an increased risk for opioid-related problems. Given the deleterious outcomes of tobacco use in the context of chronic pain, identifying individual difference factors involved in tobacco-opioid relations is of public health importance. Pain-related anxiety, or a tendency to respond to pain sensations with anxiety and fear, maybe an especially important mechanistic factor associated with the relationship between tobacco use severity and opioid misuse. Therefore, the current study examined the moderating role of pain-related anxiety on the relationship between tobacco use severity and opioid misuse and dependence. Participants were 258 tobacco-using adults who endorsed moderate to severe chronic pain and current use of an opioid medication (72.1% female, M = 37.19 years, SD = 10.17). Two hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to test main and interactive effects of tobacco use severity and pain-related anxiety for current opioid misuse and severity of opioid dependence. Results indicated a significant moderation effect, such that the relationship between tobacco use severity and opioid misuse and dependence was stronger among individuals with higher (but not lower) pain-related anxiety. These findings build upon the extant literature by demonstrating an interactive effect of tobacco use severity and pain-related anxiety in terms of opioid-related outcomes and suggest that current tobacco users with elevated levels of pain-related anxiety may be at increased risk for opioid misuse and dependence.