Using a mouse model of painful osteoarthritis, they found that blocking this pathway eliminates pain associated with osteoarthritis (OA) and results in a return to normal limb use. The work, the first to find an association between this pathway and osteoarthritis pain, could lead to the development of new, effective pain treatments for people with...
Category: <span>Pain/Inflammation</span>
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Researchers identify osteoarthritis ‘pain pathway’
by Tracey Peake, North Carolina State University Credit: CC0 Public Domain Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered that a particular molecular signaling pathway plays an important role in producing osteoarthritis (OA) pain. Using a mouse model of painful osteoarthritis, they show that blocking this signaling pathway eliminates pain and results in a return...
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SARS-CoV-2 infection could cause alterations in pain perception
by Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Physicians from the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) have observed a surprising phenomenon during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: Some patients with cancer-related pain have experiences a significant decrease or even disappearance of pain perception during the acute phase of infection. This case study would confirm the...
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New life for a cancer drug that reprograms pain pathways to treat chronic pain
IMAGE: UPPER RIGHT: SCREENING COMPOUNDS IN THE “JUNKYARD OF CANCER DRUGS”, AKIN TO SIEVING THROUGH SAND, LOOKING FOR GOLD NUGGETS. KENPAULLONE WAS IDENTIFIED AS A PROMISING CANDIDATE OWING TO ITS ABILITY TO SWITCH ON THE KCC2 GENE, WHICH HAS BEEN PREDICTED TO ALLEVIATE CHRONIC PAIN. UPPER LEFT: INTRACTABLE CHRONIC PAIN IS A SERIOUS AND PRESSING...
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Emotional aspects of chronic pain isolated in brain circuitry
Negative emotional states and physical pain are intimately connected. Numerous people who suffer from chronic, persistent pain also deal with negative emotions and loss of motivation. Some even become clinically depressed eventually, and doctors sometimes prescribe antidepressants to treat chronic pain, even though the pathways that link pain and mood are poorly understood. Now, studying...
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VIRTUAL REALITY AND REGULAR MEDITATIVE BREATHING BOTH EASE PAIN
It’s long been known that meditative mindful breathing helps with various health conditions, including pain. The new findings indicate that the two types of meditative breathing both lessened pain by modulating the somatosensory cortex, a region of the brain responsible for processing pain, but used different mechanisms, says Alexandre DaSilva, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of...
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Topical pain-killers more effective, safer than opioids for knee osteoarthritis pain
by Jennifer Stranges, St. Michael’s Hospital Treatment effect on osteoarthritis pain and dropouts due to adverse events compared with oral placebo, ordered according to treatment effect size on osteoarthritis pain. Blue: oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; green: topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; orange: opioids. Area between dashed lines shows treatment effect estimates below the minimum clinically important difference....
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Can Psychedelic Drugs Treat Physical Pain?
By Troy Farah on September 30, 2021 Psilocybin mushrooms. Credit: Getty Images When Kevin was just 11 months old, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which led to other health problems as he grew up: loss of vision in his left eye and peripheral neuropathy, a painful condition caused by nerve damage. Then, in 2019, a colonoscopy revealed...
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Researchers’ novel mind-body program outperforms other forms of treatment for chronic back pain
BOSTON – Chronic back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. In the United States, patients spend up to $300 billion each year to treat the condition, according to a 2012 study published in the Journal of Pain. However, common therapies such as surgery and steroid injections intended to address physical origins of back pain have not been clearly proven to work in randomized clinical trials, and a growing body of evidence suggests...
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Managing Hip Pain: Clinicians Debate
Charles P. Vega, MD Last month, I posted a case from my own practice to highlight issues of pain management in primary care. To recap: The patient was a 66-year-old woman with lifestyle-limiting hip pain and several medical comorbidities, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. I asked for, and received, numerous comments about my management of this...