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Individuals with chronic low back pain (cLBP) may benefit from multimodal functional restoration programs (FRPs).
Learn More >Constipation is the most common adverse event (AE) of opioid therapy. This multicenter, phase 2 study evaluated the efficacy and safety of linaclotide in treating opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with chronic noncancer pain syndromes (NCT02270983). Adults with OIC (<3 spontaneous bowel movements [SBMs]/week) related to chronic noncancer pain were randomized 1:1:1 to receive linaclotide 145 µg, linaclotide 290 µg, or placebo once daily for 8 weeks. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in 8-week SBM frequency rate (SBMs/week). Secondary efficacy endpoints included 6/8-week SBM 3 + 1 responders, time to first SBM, and changes from baseline in 8-week stool consistency, abdominal bloating, and straining. Additional endpoints included treatment satisfaction and adequate relief responders. In total, 254 patients were randomized: 87, 88, and 79 received linaclotide 145 µg, linaclotide 290 µg, and placebo, respectively. The mean changes from baseline in SBMs/week during the treatment period were 2.9 and 3.5 in the linaclotide 145 and 290 µg groups (P < 0.01 for both doses), respectively, vs 1.6 in the placebo group. Diarrhea, the most common AE, was generally mild, resulting in 1.1%, 5.7%, and 1.3% of patients discontinuing in the linaclotide 145 μg, linaclotide 290 μg, and placebo groups, respectively. No serious AEs related to diarrhea were reported in any treatment group. Compared with placebo, linaclotide-treated patients had significant improvements in stool consistency, straining, abdominal bloating, and treatment satisfaction scores (P < 0.05). Linaclotide significantly improved OIC symptoms and was well tolerated in patients with chronic noncancer pain.
Learn More >Ubrogepant (MK-1602) is a novel, oral, calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist in clinical development with positive Phase III outcomes for acute treatment of migraine. This paper describes the population exposure-response (E-R) modeling and simulations which were used to inform the Phase III dose-selection rationale, based on approximately 800 participants pooled across two Phase IIb randomized dose-finding clinical trials. The E-R model describes the placebo and ubrogepant treatment effects based on migraine pain endpoints (2-hour pain relief and 2-hour pain freedom) at various dose levels. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate various assumptions of placebo response in light of the high placebo response observed in one Phase II trial. A population PK model describing the effect of formulations was included in the E-R simulation framework to assess potential dose implications of a formulation switch from Phase II to Phase III. Model-based simulations predict that a dose of 25 mg or higher is likely to achieve significantly better efficacy than placebo with desirable efficacy levels. The understanding of E-R helped support the dose selection for the Phase III clinical trials.
Learn More >This study sought to characterize central sensitization further among women with chronic pelvic pain by identifying temporal summation using a cotton swab (Q-tip) test that can be used at the bedside.
Learn More >Chronic lower back pain (CLBP) is a major health care burden and often results in workplace absenteeism. It is a priority for appropriate management of CLBP to get individuals back to work as early as possible. Interventions informed by the flags approach, which integrates cognitive and behavioral approaches via identification of biopsychosocial barriers to recovery, have resulted in reduced pain-related work absences and increased return to work for individuals with CLBP. However, research indicates that physicians' adherence to biopsychosocial guidelines is low.
Learn More >Although white matter lesions are frequently detected in migraine patients, underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Low carotid artery endothelial shear stress has been associated with white matter lesions. We aimed to investigate the association between carotid artery endothelial shear stress and white matter lesions in migraine. In 40 elderly migraine patients ( = 29 females, 75 years [SD 3]) and 219 controls ( = 80 females, 74 years [SD 3]) from the PROSPER-MRI study, carotid artery endothelial shear stress was estimated on 1.5 T gradient-echo phase contrast MRI. White matter lesion volumes were calculated from structural MRI scans. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease. Migraine patients had lower mean endothelial shear stress compared to controls (0.90 [SD 0.15] vs. 0.98 [SD 0.16] Pa; = 0.03). The association between mean endothelial shear stress and white matter lesion volume was greater for the migraine group than control group ( for interaction = 0.05). Within the migraine group, white matter lesion volume increased with decreasing endothelial shear stress (β-0.421; = 0.01). In conclusion, migraine patients had lower endothelial shear stress which was associated with higher white matter lesion volume.
Learn More >A proper antalgic treatment is based on the use of titrated drugs to provide adequate relief and a good tolerability profile. Therapies have a variable effectiveness among subjects depending on medical and genetic conditions. CYP2D6 variations determine a different clinical response to most analgesic drugs commonly used in daily clinical practice by influencing the drugs' pharmacokinetics. This study was a monocentric clinical trial exploring the CYP2D6 variants in 100 patients with a diagnosis of chronic pain.
Learn More >Genetic variation in melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) has a known role in red hair. Studies on responses to noxious stimuli in red-haired individuals have also been conducted, with mixed findings. To investigate a possible divergence between variants responsible for red hair and pain sensitivity, we performed a gene-wide association analysis in the Orofacial Pain: Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment (OPPERA) cohort. All genotyped (17) MC1R variants were tested for association with heat pain temporal summation and sensitivity. Our analyses showed an association for pain sensitivity with the 5'-UTR, tagged by rs3212361, and one missense variant, rs885479 (R163Q), previously shown to be weakly associated with red hair. For both variants, the minor allele was protective. These results were validated in the 500,000-person U.K. Biobank (UKBB) cohort, where the minor alleles of rs3212361 and rs885479 were associated with a reduced count of persistent pain conditions as well as individual pain conditions. Haplotype association analysis revealed a possible joint effect from the two individual variants. The 5'-UTR variant rs3212361 was further identified as an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL), associated with reduced transcript levels of MC1R in the brain and in the peripheral tibial nerve. Hair colour association analysis of the loss-of-function 5'-UTR rs3212361 allele identified association with red hair, and red hair colour itself was associated with a reduced count of persistent pain conditions. Together, our results suggest that primarily different mechanisms – affecting expression levels versus protein activity – mediated by different genetic variants in the MC1R locus contribute to red hair and pain.
Learn More >Despite guidelines, painful neuropathy is often inappropriately treated. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of a clinical decision support system on guideline-recommended medication utilization.
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