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Pinprick evoked potentials (PEPs) represent a novel tool to assess the functional integrity of mechano-nociceptive pathways with a potential toward objectifying sensory deficits and gain seen in neurological disorders. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of PEPs with respect to age, stimulation site, and skin type.
Learn More >Cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) contribute to the transition from acute to persistent pain. Despite increasing incidence of obesity and its linkage with chronic pain and inflammation, cytokines predominantly produced by adipose tissue (adipokines) have received little attention. Here we aimed to explore the longitudinal trajectory of adipokines from the onset of acute low back pain (LBP) and identify combinations of adipokines and/or other features that predict outcome.
Learn More >Central sensitization, including dysfunction of descending inhibitory pain pathways, may contribute to multisite pain in patients with chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Duloxetine is a centrally acting analgesic that effectively reduces pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Here we assessed the efficacy of duloxetine (60 mg/day) in Japanese patients (N = 353) with pain due to knee osteoarthritis based on the number of painful body sites, determined using the Michigan Body Map.
Learn More >Despite the association between chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), little is known about the longitudinal course of pain and PTSD during cancer treatment. We examined the prevalence of PTSD and chronic pain at three time periods in veterans with a diagnosis of cancer, and the relationship between the experience of pain and PTSD. Participants ( = 123) with oral-digestive cancers were recruited from the Veterans Healthcare System (age = 65.31 and SD = 9.13; 98.4% male) and completed face to face interviews at 6, 12, and 18 months post-diagnosis. Measures included the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Stressor-Specific version (PCL-S), Primary care PTSD (PC-PTSD), and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pain Impact Scale. About one-third (26.8%) of the sample had chronic pain, defined as elevated pain at two time periods. About one-fifth (20.3%) endorsed symptoms of combat-related PTSD at 6 months, and 22.8% endorsed symptoms of cancer-related PTSD, exceeding a clinical cutoff for older adults (12 months = 21.1%, 18 months = 23.1%). Changes over time were observed for cancer-related PTSD symptom clusters of hyperarousal ( = 3.85 and = 0.023) and emotional numbing ( = 4.06 and = 0.018) with a statistically significant quadratic function increasing at 18 months. In logistic regression, individuals with both combat and cancer-related PTSD symptoms at six months had 8.49 times higher odds of experiencing chronic pain (χ = 25.91 and < 0.001; = 0.28). Persisting pain may be a concern in veterans with cancer. Individuals who have experienced traumatic events with persisting PTSD symptoms may be at elevated risk for chronic pain. Veterans with PTSD symptoms from both cancer and combat are at the highest risk to experience chronic pain.
Learn More >Several investigations have indicated emotional processing impairment in migraineurs, while no report is available considering the automatic processing of emotional information. In this study, we aimed to characterize the pre-attentive processing of facial expressions in migraine sufferers by recording and analyzing expression-related visual mismatch negativity (EMMN).
Learn More >The objective of this study is to investigate the association of clinical markers of obesity and weight trajectories with chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP). This is a cross-sectional study using baseline data from ELSA-Brasil MSK cohort. CMP was evaluated at nine body sites (neck, shoulders, upper back, elbows, lower back, wrists/hands, hips/thighs, knees, ankles/feet), and defined as pain lasting > 6 months in the past year. General and abdominal obesity levels were classified according to accepted cut-offs for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-height ratio (WHtR). Binomial and multinomial logistic regressions tested for associations with CMP at any site, at ≥ 3 sites (multisite) and in upper + lower limbs + axial skeleton (generalized). A total of 2899 participants (mean age 56.0 ± 8.93) were included, 55.0% reported CMP, 19.1% had multisite, and 10.3% had generalized CMP. After adjustments for sex, age, education, physical activity and depressive symptoms, nearly all the investigated markers of obesity were associated with any CMP, multisite and generalized CMP, with strongest associations being observed for general obesity level II/III: OR 2.08 (95% CI 1.45-2.99), OR 3.19 (95% CI 2.06-4.94) and OR 3.65 (2.18-6.11), respectively. Having excess weight currently or both at age 20 and currently was also associated with all CMP presentations. Associations of greater magnitude were consistently observed at higher obesity levels and longer exposures to excess weight (dose-response). These results may support the contribution of obesity-derived mechanical and inflammatory mechanisms of CMP, and indicate a role for the accumulation of exposure to excess weight across the adult life course.
Learn More >Despite evidence of the analgesic benefits of cannabis, there remains a relative scarcity of research on the short- and long-term effects of cannabis use in individuals with chronic pain.
Learn More >Chronic musculoskeletal pain disorders (CMPDs) are among the leading causes of disabilities across populations, resulting in high social and financial burden. This persistent pain condition may include the central sensitization (CS) phenomenon, which implies a wide range of symptoms and that may be taken into account in CMPD treatment. CS symptoms can be measured by the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI). The aims of the study were to describe CS symptoms in patients suffering from several CMPDs and to analyze differences due to gender, age, and body mass index (BMI).
Learn More >To compare physical, sensory, and psychosocial factors between individuals with greater trochanteric pain syndrome and controls and to explore factors associated with pain and disability.
Learn More >The plasma membrane adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release channel pannexin 1 (PANX1) has been implicated in many physiological and pathophysiological processes associated with purinergic signaling, including cancer progression, apoptotic cell clearance, inflammation, blood pressure regulation, oocyte development, epilepsy and neuropathic pain. Here we present near-atomic-resolution structures of human and frog PANX1 determined by cryo-electron microscopy that revealed a heptameric channel architecture. Compatible with ATP permeation, the transmembrane pore and cytoplasmic vestibule were exceptionally wide. An extracellular tryptophan ring located at the outer pore created a constriction site, potentially functioning as a molecular sieve that restricts the size of permeable substrates. The amino and carboxyl termini, not resolved in the density map, appeared to be structurally dynamic and might contribute to narrowing of the pore during channel gating. In combination with functional characterization, this work elucidates the previously unknown architecture of pannexin channels and establishes a foundation for understanding their unique channel properties.
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