Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Letter Case Reports
Septic Arthritis Following Radiofrequency Ablation of the Genicular Nerves.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Meta-analysis Comparing Platelet-Rich Plasma vs Hyaluronic Acid Injection in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis.
The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and hyaluronic acid (HA) in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). ⋯ In terms of long-term pain relief and functional improvement, PRP injections might be more effective than HA injections as a treatment for KOA. The optimal dosage, the timing interval and frequency of injections, and the ideal treatment for different stages of KOA remain areas of concern for future investigations.
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To assess the evidence for the safety and efficacy of invasive procedures for reducing chronic pain and improving function and health-related quality of life compared with sham (placebo) procedures. ⋯ There is little evidence for the specific efficacy beyond sham for invasive procedures in chronic pain. A moderate amount of evidence does not support the use of invasive procedures as compared with sham procedures for patients with chronic back or knee pain. Given their high cost and safety concerns, more rigorous studies are required before invasive procedures are routinely used for patients with chronic pain.
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Trigeminal neuralgia is defined as a sudden severe shock-like pain within the distribution of the trigeminal nerve. Pain is a subjective experience that is influenced by gender, culture, environment, psychological traits, and genes. Sodium channels and nerve growth factor play important roles in the transmission of nociceptive signals and pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of Nav1.7 sodium channel and nerve growth factor receptor TrkA gene polymorphisms (SCN9A/rs6746030 and NTRK1/rs633, respectively) in trigeminal neuralgia patients. ⋯ Although no association of evaluated polymorphisms and trigeminal neuralgia diagnosis or pain severity was observed, our data do not exclude the possibility that other genotypes affecting the expression of Nav1.7 or TrkA are associated with the disease. Further studies should investigate distinct genetic polymorphisms and epigenetic factors that may be important in expression of these molecules.