European journal of pain : EJP
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Recently, fatty acids have been shown to modulate sensory function in animal models of neuropathic pain. In this study, the antinociceptive effect of 2-hydroxyoleic acid (2-OHOA) was assessed following spared nerve injury (SNI) with reflex and cerebrally mediated behavioural responses. ⋯ Oral administration of the modified omega 9 fatty acid, 2-OHOA, mediates antinociception and prevents open-field-induced anxiety in the SNI model in Wistar rats, which is mediated by an inhibition of spinal dorsal horn microglia activation.
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Pain prevalence studies are important as they illustrate the magnitude of pain problems in a certain patient population, such as patients living with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Strikingly, reported pain prevalence rates in SCI patients are found to vary greatly, while determinants for the differences between pain prevalence reports remain unclear. We here aim to identify determinants for the differences (heterogeneity) in pain prevalence reports through a systematic review of all SCI pain prevalence reporting studies. ⋯ While correcting for these items, population characteristics correlating with pain prevalence rates were both proportion of patients with a depression and average time after injury (positive correlations). Between-study heterogeneity may remain even after the identification/correction of above-mentioned causes of heterogeneity. Pain after SCI does seem to relate to the duration of the injury and depression, yet major causes of bias in reported pain prevalence are found to be related to the primary study goal (pain study or not), choice of pain definition and the use of retrospective data.
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Pain is a common complaint in women with endometriosis and can be influenced by many variables, including sleep disorders; however, no data are available on the sleep quality of women with endometriosis or on the correlation between sleep quality and pain. ⋯ Sleep quality was poorer and the pain threshold at certain body sites was lower in the group of women with endometriosis.
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Although nearly everyone at some point in their lives experiences back pain; the amount of interference with routine activity varies significantly. The fear-avoidance (FA) model of chronic pain explains how psychological variables, such as fear, act as mediating factors influencing the relationship between clinical pain intensity and the amount of interference with daily activities. What remains less clear is how other mediating factors fit within this model. The primary objective of this report was to examine the extent to which a dynamic measure of pain sensitivity provides additional information within the context of the FA model. ⋯ This preliminary modelling suggests complex interactions exist between pain-related fear and pain sensitivity measures that further explain individual differences in behaviour.