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Painful Temporomandibular Disorder is Associated with Migraine in Adolescents: a case-control study.

Some types of primary headaches and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are comorbid in adults and highly prevalent in adolescents. Herein, we investigated the association of painful TMD with specific headache diagnoses (migraine, tension-type headache) and with headache frequency in adolescents. We also explored the association of headache diagnosis with the number of painful sites in the trigeminal area. Painful TMD was assessed using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD. We conducted a case-control study of adolescents from 13-15 years old who were recruited among participants in a previous epidemiological study conducted in Araraquara, SP, Brazil. Headaches were classified according to the Second Edition of the International Classification for Headache Disorders. Logistic, multinomial logistic and linear regression models were used to test associations. Of 149 individuals, 55.7% presented painful TMD. Adolescents with painful TMD (cases) were more likely to have migraine compared with those without TMD (controls) [OR= 3.0 (95% CI: 1.47-6.19); p=0.033]. Significant differences were not observed for probable TTH (p=0.307) and TTH (p=0.834). Painful TMD was also associated with an increase in headache frequency (linear-by-linear association=8.051; p=0.005). Only migraine was associated with a greater number of painful sites on palpation in the trigeminal area (p= 0.001). Migraine and frequency of headache were associated with painful TMD in adolescents. PERSPECTIVE: Migraine and headache frequency were strongly associated with painful TMD in adolescents, and causality must be determined. For now, the presence of one condition should raise suspicion of the other and warrants collaboration between orofacial pain specialists and neurologists.

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A Virtual Reality Intervention for the Treatment of Phantom Limb Pain: Development and Feasibility Results.

To describe the development of a virtual reality (VR) treatment for phantom limb pain (PLP) and phantom sensations and provide feasibility data from testing the treatment in a population of veterans.

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Investigating macrophage-mediated inflammation in migraine using ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced 3T magnetic resonance imaging.

Initiating mechanisms of migraine headache remain poorly understood and a biomarker of migraine does not exist. Inflammation pertaining to the wall of cerebral arteries and brain parenchyma has been suggested to play a role in migraine pathophysiology.

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Individuals with Chronic Pain Who Misuse Prescription Opioids Report Sex-Based Differences in Pain and Opioid Withdrawal.

Individuals with chronic pain who misuse prescription opioids are at high risk for developing opioid use disorder and/or succumbing to opioid overdose. The current study conducted a survey to evaluate sex-based differences in pain catastrophizing, opioid withdrawal, and current pain in persons with co-occurring chronic pain and opioid misuse. We hypothesized that women with chronic pain who misused prescription opioids would self-report higher pain ratings compared with men and that the relationship between pain catastrophizing and self-reported current pain would be moderated by symptoms of opioid withdrawal in women only.

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Clinical Subtypes of Medication Overuse Headache – Findings From a Large Cohort.

The International Classification of Headache Disorders lists different subtypes of medication overuse headache (MOH), according to the medication overused. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the different subtypes correspond to clinically distinguishable phenotypes in a large population.

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The Interaction of Alcohol Use and Cannabis Use Problems in Relation to Opioid Misuse Among Adults with Chronic Pain.

The opioid epidemic is a significant public health crisis and prescription opioids are often used to manage chronic pain, despite questionable long-term efficacy. Furthermore, co-substance (mis)use is also common among individuals with chronic pain who use opioids. Alcohol has been consistently used to manage chronic pain, partly due to its acute analgesic properties. Cannabis has also recently garnered attention in the context of pain management, though research examining its efficacy for pain has produced mixed results. Nevertheless, there is accumulating evidence that concurrent substance co-use is positively associated with use and misuse of additional substances, particularly among individuals with chronic pain. Thus, the goal of this study was to examine the main and interactive effects of alcohol use problems and cannabis use problems in relation to opioid misuse among adults with chronic pain who use opioids.

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The Interrelationship between Sleep and Chronic Pain in Adolescents.

Over half of youth with chronic pain report sleep deficiency including difficulties falling asleep, maintaining sleep, feeling unrested, and experiencing short sleep duration. Sleep deficiency has been shown to play a causal role in the development or worsening of chronic pain, and is associated with a variety of negative consequences for youth with chronic pain. The purpose of this review is to provide a summary of the literature on the interrelationship of sleep and chronic pain in adolescents. We review the impact and prevalence of sleep disturbances, conceptual models of the interrelationship of sleep and pain, biobehavioral mechanisms and risk factors, sleep assessment, and treatment of sleep deficiency and chronic pain in adolescents. Our recommendations for future research include understanding biobehavioral mechanisms that underlie the link between chronic pain and sleep deficiency to help guide development and testing of treatments for co-occurring pain and sleep disturbance in adolescents.

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Spinal signaling of C-fiber mediated pleasant touch in humans.

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Assessing the specificity of the relationship between brain alpha oscillations and tonic pain.

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Size does matter, but it isn’t everything: the challenge of modest treatment effects in chronic pain clinical trials.

Recent research has suggested that the magnitudes of analgesic treatment effects estimated in clinical trials have decreased over time. Implications of these findings for future sample size calculations and clinical trial research designs have not been addressed. In this article, we examine the standardized effect size (SES) for average pain intensity (API) and worst pain intensity (WPI) outcomes from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of analgesic treatments shown to be efficacious for chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis pain, painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and postherpetic neuralgia that were published between 1980 and 2016. API and WPI SESs have declined over time and are approximately 0.30 in the most recent trials. This is similar to the mean SESs found in recent RCTs of efficacious antidepressant medications for the treatment of depression. We propose that in many circumstances this value should be considered when conducting sample size determinations for phase 2 and 3 analgesic RCTs. Other methods to address the challenge of modest treatment effects by increasing trial efficiency and assay sensitivity are also briefly discussed. PERSPECTIVE: This article examines continuous pain intensity data obtained from analgesic treatment trials for chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis pain, painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and postherpetic neuralgia. Numerical declines in standardized effect sizes (SESs) were observed, with SESs being approximately 0.30 in the most recent trials.

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