Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
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Although the evidence of the attentional bias of chronic pain individuals toward pain-related information is established in the literature, few studies examined the time course of attention toward pain stimuli and the role of pain catastrophizing on attentional engagement toward pain-related information. This study examined the time course of attention to pain-related information and the role of pain catastrophizing on attentional engagement for pain-related information. Participants were fifty young adult participants with chronic pain (35% male, 65% female; M = 21.8 years) who completed self-report questionnaires assessing pain catastrophizing levels (Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS)), depression (the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)), and pain disability (the Pain Disability Index: (PDI)). ⋯ These results indicated that the degree of increase for pain bias scores were significantly greater than anger bias scores as levels of pain catastrophizing increased. Results of the present study provided the evidence for the attentional bias and information processing model which has clinical implications; high levels of pain catastrophizing may impair individuals' ability to cope with chronic pain by increasing attentional engagement toward pain-related information. The present study can add knowledge to attentional bias and pain research as this study investigated the time course of attention and the role of pain catastrophizing on attentional engagement toward pain-related information for adults with chronic pain conditions.
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We constructed a water-soluble lipopolymer (WSLP) as a nonviral gene carrier to deliver siRNA targeting NR2B. The cytotoxicity and serum stability of WSLP loaded with siRNA were evaluated, and the knockdown efficiency of WSLP/NR2B-siRNA in PC12 cells was examined. The results showed that WSLP could protect the loading siRNAs from enzymatic degradation in serum and exhibit low cytotoxicity to cells. ⋯ Injection of WSLP with scrambled siRNA or of polyethylenimine (PEI) with NR2B-siRNA did not show this inhibitory effect. Additionally, injection of WSLP/NR2B-siRNA complexes significantly relieved inflammatory pain in rats at 3, 4, and 5 days with reduced MWT and decreased TWL scores, while injection of WSLP with scrambled siRNA or of PEI with NR2B-siRNA did not. These results demonstrated that WSLP can efficiently deliver siRNA targeting NR2B to PC12 cells and relieve pain in rats with chronic inflammatory pain.
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Multiple studies in healthy populations and clinical samples have shown that ethnic minorities have greater pain sensitivity than their majority counterparts. Acculturation is speculated to be one of the sociocultural factors contributing to pain sensitivity since cultural beliefs and practices can influence the way patients perceive and respond to pain. However, the relationship of acculturation to pain sensitivity in minority populations remains poorly understood. ⋯ Regression analyses indicated that lower acculturation to American culture may contribute to greater experimental pain sensitivity. Asian Americans who were more acculturated to the American culture had higher heat pain tolerance (beta = 0.61, P=0.01), higher pressure pain threshold (beta = 0.59, P=0.02), and lower ratings of punctate mechanical pain (beta = -0.70, P < 0.01). These findings add to the literature regarding sociocultural factors associated with pain in Asian Americans; additional research with a larger and more diverse sample of Asian Americans is warranted for cross-validation.
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The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the frequency of orofacial (nonodontogenic, neuropathic, or atypical) and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and/or masticatory muscle pain in orthognathic patients in a tertiary institution. A total of 286 consecutive patients undergoing sagittal split osteotomy from 2014 to 2016 were included. Thirty-nine (13.6%) patients presented with TMJ pain and 10 (3.5%) with orofacial nonodontogenic pain before orthognathic surgery; 79.6% (39/49) of these patients had no pain 1 year after surgery. ⋯ In patients with TMJ pain refractory to conservative treatment, arthroscopic surgery was advised and successful in all patients for both pain reduction and improvement of the maximal interincisal opening. TMJ symptoms do develop after orthognathic surgery in patients with and without a previous history of TMJ complaints. Most patients can be managed with nonsurgical therapeutic modalities.
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The aim of the current study was to compare physical activity and sleep duration between patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), and controls and to examine the association between physical activity level and sleep duration with symptom severity within these patient groups. ⋯ This study indicates that patients with CFS or FMS sleep longer and are less physically active than controls on average. Both low and high levels of physical activity and short and long sleep duration are associated with higher symptom severity, suggesting the importance of patient-tailored treatment.