European journal of pain : EJP
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This study estimated the inter-rater reliability and agreement of the somatosensory assessment performed at masseter and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) region in a group of healthy female and male participants. ⋯ The test site and participant's sex can significantly influence the relative reliability and agreement of quantitative sensory testing applied to musculoskeletal orofacial region, which affect the capacity to discriminate participants and to evaluate changes over time.
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Patients with non-dental orofacial pain syndromes will often primarily consult general dentists and other dental specialists. Early and correct diagnosis and therapy is crucial to prevent chronification. ⋯ Interdisciplinary pain treatment seems to be well acknowledged, however, with a focus on referral within the community of dental specialists. Dental curricula and post-graduate trainings need to implement the diagnosis and treatment options of non-dental orofacial pain.
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Chronic pain conditions, especially osteoarthritis (OA), are as common in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) as in the general elderly population, which results in detrimental impact on patient's quality of life. However, alteration in perception of pain in AD coupled with deteriorating ability to communicate pain sensations often result in under-diagnosis and inappropriate management of pain. Therefore, a better understanding of mechanisms in chronic pain processing in AD is needed. Here, we explored the development and progression of OA pain and the effect of analgesics in a transgenic mouse model of AD. ⋯ This study shows attenuated pain-like behaviour in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease due to alterations in the opioidergic system and central plasticity mechanisms of persistent pain.
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Irritable bowel and sensitive skin syndromes are common painful conditions that are poorly understood, with alterations of the peripheral (and possibly central) nervous system that lead to a lowering of perception thresholds as the main pathophysiological mechanism. ⋯ The demonstration of the association between these two syndromes can open new pathophysiological or even therapeutic pathways, since dysfunctional nerve endings and/or increased release of some neurotransmitters are likely involved.
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The term 'irritable nociceptor' was coined to describe neuropathic patients characterized by evoked hypersensitivity and preservation of primary afferent fibres. Oxcarbazepine is largely ineffectual in an overall patient population, but has clear efficacy in a subgroup with the irritable nociceptor profile. We examine whether neuropathy in rats induced by spinal nerve injury shares overlapping pharmacological sensitivity with the irritable nociceptor phenotype using drugs that target sodium channels. ⋯ The inhibitory effects of lidocaine and oxcarbazepine in this rat model of neuropathy resemble the clinical observations in the irritable nociceptor patient subgroup and support a mechanism-based rationale for bench-to-bedside translation when screening novel drugs.