The Clinical journal of pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Fulranumab in Patients with Pain Associated with Postherpetic Neuralgia and Postraumatic Neuropathy: Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability Results from a Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Phase-2 Study.
Fulranumab is an antibody that specifically neutralizes the biological activity of human nerve growth factor. This multicenter, phase-2, randomized, double-blind (DB), placebo-controlled study evaluated the analgesic efficacy and safety of fulranumab in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and posttraumatic neuropathy (PTN) patients. ⋯ Fulranumab did not demonstrate efficacy in either PHN or PTN patients, but was generally well-tolerated in this small underpowered and abbreviated study.
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To characterize the distribution of masseter muscle activity and force control during bilateral jaw clenching tasks in people with chronic nonspecific neck pain, without an associated temporomandibular disorder. ⋯ People with chronic neck pain display increased activation and altered distribution of masseter muscle activity during a jaw-clenching coordination task. These results provide a greater appreciation of how secondary orofacial pain or temporomandibular disorders may develop in people with neck pain.
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Chronic pain and long-term opioid use may lead to a persistent deficit in hedonic capacity, characterized by increased sensitivity to aversive states and insensitivity to natural rewards. Dispositional mindfulness has been linked with improved emotion regulation and pain coping. The aim of the current study was to examine associations between dispositional mindfulness, hedonic capacity, and pain-related interference in an opioid-using chronic pain sample. ⋯ Findings indicate that dispositional mindfulness was associated with hedonic capacity among this chronic pain sample. In light of this association, it is plausible that interventions that increase mindfulness may reduce pain-related impairment among opioid-using patients by enhancing hedonic capacity.
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To evaluate the efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) in relation to reducing postoperative pain, analgesic use, and wound healing in patients undergoing Cesarean section (C-section). ⋯ PEMF treatment after C-section decreases postsurgical pain, analgesic use, and surgical wound exudate and edema significantly, and is associated with a high level of patient satisfaction.
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Improvement in pain is a major expectation of patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery. ⋯ Pain is not uncommon after lumbar surgery and is associated with a network of clinical, surgical, and psychological variables. This study provides evidence that patients' expectations about pain are an independent variable in this network. Because expectations are potentially modifiable this study supports addressing pain-related expectations with patients before surgery through discussions with surgeons and through formal preoperative patient education.