European journal of pain : EJP
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Long-term pain affects brain in response to attention tasks. This study aimed to verify the relationship between performance in a computerized visual attention test (CVAT) and response to duloxetine in fibromyalgia patients. Duloxetine is approved for the treatment but the response is not immediate. ⋯ This study shows that an improvement in an attentional test is a reliable predictor of the treatment response even without any improvement in the perception of pain.
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This study aimed to evaluate age-related changes in laser-evoked potential (LEP) features, including habituation, via trigeminal and hand stimulation in a large group of healthy volunteers. ⋯ Standardization of age-related changes in trigeminal and hand LEPs is possible and should improve their reliability in the objective assessment of pain pathways.
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Drugs activating the mu opioid receptor are routinely used to treat severe acute and chronic pain. Unfortunately, side effects including nausea, constipation, respiratory depression, addiction and tolerance can limit clinical utility. In contrast, kappa opioid receptor (KOPr) agonists, such as Salvinorin A (SalA), have analgesic properties with little potential for abuse. ⋯ Salvinorin A and the novel analogue β-THP Salvinorin B show analgesic effects in the tail-withdrawal and formalin assays. They reduce oedema and decrease neutrophil infiltration into inflamed tissue, and suppress mechanical and cold allodynia in paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain.
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γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptors (GABAARs) locate at both synaptic and extrasynaptic membrane, which generate phasic and tonic inhibition, respectively. In spinal cord dorsal horn, the phasic inhibition produced by transient activation of synaptic GABAARs plays an important role in the gating control over nociceptive conveyance. Although extrasynaptic GABAARs that contain α5 subunits (α5-GABAARs) are also detectable in spinal dorsal horn, much less is known about the function of these receptors. ⋯ Tonic inhibition generated by α5-GABAARs is important for information processing. However, whether and how α5-GABAARs regulate the conveyance of nociceptive signals in spinal cord is largely unknown. Here, we revealed a negative control by α5-GABAARs over nociceptive transmission and plasticity.
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Low back pain (LBP) in older adults is poorly understood because the vast majority of the LBP research has focused on the working aged population. The aim of this study was to compare older adults consulting with chronic LBP to middle aged and young adults consulting with chronic LBP, in terms of their baseline characteristics, and pain and disability outcomes over 1 year. ⋯ Small baseline differences exist in older people with chronic low back pain compared to middle aged and younger adults referred to secondary care for chronic low back pain. Older adults present with slightly less intense low back pain but slightly more intense leg pain. Changes in pain intensity and disability over a 12 month period were similar across all age groups.