Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Increasing evidence suggests the potential involvement of metalloproteinase family proteins in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain, although the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. ⋯ Our findings indicate that neuron-derived ADAM10 production stimulates peripheral nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain by cleaving E-cadherin in satellite glial cells.
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Women veterans with chronic pain utilize health care with greater frequency than their male counterparts. However, little is known about gender differences in the use of specialty pain care in this population. This investigation examined gender differences in self-reported use of opioids, interventional pain treatments, rehabilitation therapies, and complementary and integrative health (CIH) services for chronic pain treatment both within and outside of the Veterans Health Administration in a sample of veterans who served in support of recent conflicts. ⋯ Use of pain specialty services was common among men and women, particularly rehabilitative and CIH services. There were no gender differences in the self-reported use of different modalities. These results are inconsistent with documented gender differences in pain care. They encourage further examination of gender differences in preferences and other individual difference variables as predictors of specialty pain care utilization.