Pain
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Chronic pain is highly prevalent. Individuals with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer disease are a susceptible population in which pain is frequently difficult to diagnosis. It is still unclear whether the pathological changes in patients with Alzheimer disease will affect pain processing. ⋯ The 5× familial Alzheimer disease mice show alleviated mechanical allodynia which can be regained by the genetic activation of ACC excitatory neurons. Furthermore, the lower peak neuronal excitation, delayed response initiation, as well as the dendritic spine reduction of ACC pyramidal neurons in 5×familial Alzheimer disease mice can be mimicked by Rac1 or actin polymerization inhibitor in wild-type (WT) mice. These findings indicate that abnormal of pain sensitivity in Alzheimer disease modeling mice is closely related to the variation of neuronal activity and dendritic spine loss in ACC pyramidal neurons, suggesting the crucial role of dendritic spine density in pain processing.
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People with an evening (E)-type preference (ie, chronotype) experience musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) more often than morning (M) types. Musculoskeletal pain is a well-established contributor to reduced HRQoL. This study aimed to evaluate whether eveningness amplifies the association between MSK pain and HRQoL in contrast to morningness. ⋯ After adjustments, this was particularly seen in terms of NPS and pain frequency. Our findings suggest that eveningness intensifies the association between MSK pain and HRQoL, and, thus, they are indicative of E-types being more sensitive than M-types to the consequences of MSK pain. As such, MSK pain treatment and rehabilitation actions to improve HRQoL should be especially targeted at E-types.
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Shoulder disorders are very common musculoskeletal conditions. Few studies have focused on the costs associated with shoulder disorders, and the economic burden has never been established in a nationwide cost-of-illness study. We aimed to evaluate the healthcare costs and costs of productivity loss (sick leave) and to evaluate if costs were higher for specific subgroups. ⋯ Additionally, the 20% of cases accruing the highest costs accounted for 66% of the total costs. In conclusion, incidence rates of shoulder disorders were high and costs of sick leave accounted for a large proportion of total costs associated with illness in working age people. Furthermore, a minority of patients accounted for a substantial share of the total costs.
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Pain and related consequences could contribute to comorbid illness and premature mortality in homeless and precariously housed persons. We analyzed longitudinal data from an ongoing naturalistic prospective study of a community-based sample (n = 370) to characterize risk factors and consequences of bodily pain. The aims were to describe bodily pain and associations with symptoms and psychosocial function, investigate factors that may increase or ameliorate pain, and examine the consequences of pain for symptoms, functioning, and all-cause mortality. ⋯ The frequency of prescribed and nonprescribed opioid use had nonlinear relationships with pain: intermittent use was associated with severe pain, without reverse association or change with the overdose epidemic. Greater longitudinal mean pain severity was associated with premature mortality, poorer functioning, and suicidal ideation. Considering the relationships between pain, intermittent opioid use, and depressive symptoms could improve health care for precariously housed patients.