Der Schmerz
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Over the last 15 years, functional brain imaging techniques have provided critical insights into cortical, subcortical and even spinal mechanisms involved in pain perception and pain modulation in humans. The pivotal contribution of brain imaging studies conducted in Germany have thereby been internationally acknowledged. One of the key challenges for the next decade is to shift the focus from studies in healthy volunteers to different clinical populations suffering from chronic pain to characterize CNS mechanisms, as well as neurobiological predictors and resilience factors of pain chronification. Ultimately, the knowledge gained by this work may help identify individual or syndrome-specific CNS changes as biomarkers to make therapeutic decisions.
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Review Comparative Study
[Pain medicine from intercultural and gender-related perspectives].
Cultural setting and sex and gender of the patient are important factors affecting the occurrence, severity, clinical course and prognosis of pain and pain-related diseases. Intercultural differences in the perception and verbal expression of symptoms and emotional function are fundamental and it is important to realize these differences in order to understand patients with a migration background. A trusting doctor-patient relationship is generally very sensitive and it is even more difficult to establish when differences in the cultural background impair mutual understanding. ⋯ Research is needed to delineate the role of specific aspects affecting sex and gender differences and the underlying mechanisms (e.g. reduced inhibitory control, hormones, psychological aspects and social factors). Altogether, we need to open our minds to some intercultural and sex and gender aspects in the clinical setting. For sex and gender differences we may need a more biopsychosocial approach to understand the underlying differences and differentiate between sex and gender and sex and gender-associated aspects for acute and chronic pain.
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Among the clinically relevant pain conditions, pain in the musculoskeletal system is most frequent. This article reports extensive epidemiological data on musculoskeletal system pain in Germany and worldwide. Since back pain is most frequent, the diagnostics and therapeutic algorithms of acute, recurring, and chronic lower back pain in Germany will be particularly addressed. ⋯ This article will list some reasons why the musculoskeletal system in particular is frequently the site of chronic pain. The authors believe that these reasons are to be sought in the complex structures of the musculoskeletal system; in the particular sensitivity of the deep somatic nociceptive system for long-term sensitization processes, as well as the ensuing nervous system reactions; and in the interactions between the nervous and immune systems. The article will give some insights into the research carried out on this topic in Germany.
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A multidisciplinary approach for the management of patients with chronic pain is now well-established in many countries, especially in situations involving a complex disease process in the sense of a biopsychosocial model. Both the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of multidisciplinary pain treatment programs and their superiority compared to unimodal therapy has been documented in a number of studies, reviews and meta-analyses, in particular for patients suffering from chronic low back pain. ⋯ Furthermore, there is still no consensus on specific therapeutic approaches, the differentiation between responders and non-responders as well as on the tools required for measurement. All these questions will have to be answered by concerted efforts in a multicenter setting.
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The introduction of pain medicine (cross-sectional subject 14, QF 14) into the Human Medicine study program is a great opportunity. A knowledge gap concerning the treatment of pain patients outside of specialized pain centers has been recognized for many years. This gap might be closed or at least reduced by a compulsory curriculum in pain medicine. ⋯ Practically experienced lecturers and theory-driven medical educationalists are called upon to get involved with the development, implementation, and evaluation of pain medicine in undergraduate education in Germany. Teaching enthusiasts are encouraged to dedicate themselves to the strenuous, but stimulating task of implementing QF 14. The Deutsche Schmerzgesellschaft (German Pain Society) will offer support for this.