Journal of pain research
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2017
Cognitive effects of electro-acupuncture and pregabalin in a trigeminal neuralgia rat model induced by cobra venom.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) and pregabalin on cognition impairment induced by chronic trigeminal neuralgia (TN) in rats. ⋯ EA and pregabalin could alleviate TN induced by cobra venom. EA could also inhibit the cognition deficit induced by TN, while pregabalin could not.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2017
Evidence of both systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation in fibromyalgia patients, as assessed by a multiplex protein panel applied to the cerebrospinal fluid and to plasma.
In addition to central hyperexcitability and impaired top-down modulation, chronic inflammation probably plays a role in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia (FM). Indeed, on the basis of both animal experiments and human studies involving the analysis of cytokines and other inflammation-related proteins in different body fluids, neuroinflammatory mechanisms are considered to be central to the pathophysiology of many chronic pain conditions. However, concerning FM, previous human plasma/serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytokine studies have looked only at a few predetermined cytokine candidates. ⋯ In addition, previous findings concerning IL-8 in FM were replicated, in both CSF and plasma. This is the first time that such an extensive inflammatory profile has been described for FM patients. Hence, FM seems to be characterized by objective biochemical alterations, and the lingering characterization of its mechanisms as essentially idiopathic or even psychogenic should be seen as definitively outdated.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2017
The Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III and the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-Short Form: a confirmatory factor analysis.
The Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III (FPQ-III) is a widely used instrument to assess the fear of pain (FOP) in clinical and nonclinical samples. The FPQ-III has 30 items and is divided into three subscales: Severe Pain, Minor Pain and Medical Pain. Due to findings of poor fit of the original three-factor FPQ-III model, the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-Short Form (FPQ-SF) four-factor model has been suggested as an alternative. The FPQ-SF is a revised version of the FPQ-III, reduced to 20 items and subdivided into four subscales: Severe Pain, Minor Pain, Injection Pain and Dental Pain. ⋯ The FPQ-SF is a better questionnaire than the FPQ-III for measurement of FOP in Norwegian samples and across sex subgroups. However, the FPQ-III is a better questionnaire for males than for females, whereas the FPQ-SF is a better questionnaire for females than for males. The findings are discussed and directions for future investigations outlined.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2017
Effect of nerve injury on the number of dorsal root ganglion neurons and autotomy behavior in adult Bax-deficient mice.
The proapoptotic molecule BAX, plays an important role in mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons depend on neurotrophic factors for survival at early developmental stages. Withdrawal of neurotrophic factors will induce apoptosis in DRG neurons, but this type of cell death can be delayed or prevented in neonatal Bax knockout (KO) mice. In adult animals, evidence also shows that DRG neurons are less dependent upon neurotrophic factors for survival. However, little is known about the effect of Bax deletion on the survival of normal and denervated DRG neurons in adult mice. ⋯ Although postnatal death or loss of DRG neurons is partially prevented by Bax deletion, this effect cannot interfere with long-term nerve injury-induced neuronal loss. The exaggerated self-amputation behavior observed in the mutant mice indicates that Bax deficiency may enhance the development of spontaneous pain following nerve injury.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2017
Adequacy of cancer-related pain management and predictors of undertreatment at referral to a pain clinic.
Several guidelines have advocated the need for adequate cancer-related pain (CRP) management. The pain management index (PMI) has been proposed as an auditable measure of the appropriateness for analgesic therapy. ⋯ The potential burden of patient and family distress associated with suboptimal CRP management in one in four patients should generate major public health concern and prompt appropriate educational and health policy measures to address the deficit.