The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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This article describes the development and validation of the S-LANSS score, a self-report version of the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs pain scale. The S-LANSS aims to identify pain of predominantly neuropathic origin, as distinct from nociceptive pain, without the need for clinical examination. Two hundred patients with chronic pain were asked to complete the S-LANSS unaided. ⋯ The findings support the S-LANSS scale as a valid and reliable self-report instrument for identifying neuropathic pain and it is also acceptable for use in postal survey research. Establishing valid measures of symptoms and signs in neuropathic pain will allow standardized comparisons with other investigational measures. This might lead to new insights into the relationship between pathophysiologic mechanisms and clinical manifestations of pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Alvimopan: an oral, peripherally acting, mu-opioid receptor antagonist for the treatment of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction--a 21-day treatment-randomized clinical trial.
Alvimopan has been shown to reverse the inhibitory effect of opioids on gastrointestinal transit without affecting analgesia. We evaluated oral alvimopan, 0.5 or 1 mg, versus placebo, once daily for 21 days, in 168 patients with opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD) who were receiving chronic opioid therapy (minimum, 1 month) for nonmalignant pain (n = 148) or opioid dependence (n = 20). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients having at least one bowel movement (BM) within 8 hours of study drug on each day during the 21-day treatment period. ⋯ Alvimopan was generally well tolerated and did not antagonize opioid analgesia. Patients treated with chronic opioid therapy often experience opioid-induced bowel dysfunction as a result of undesirable effects on peripheral opioid receptors located in the gastrointestinal tract. Alvimopan, a novel peripheral opioid mu-receptor antagonist, has demonstrated significant efficacy for the management of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction without compromise of centrally mediated opioid-induced analgesia.
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Responses to painful stimuli are characterized by tremendous interindividual variability, and genetic factors likely account for some proportion of this variability. However, few studies have identified genetic contributions to experimental pain perception in humans. This experiment investigated whether the A118G single nucleotide polymorphism of the mu-opioid receptor gene ( OPRM1 ) was associated with responses to three different experimental pain modalities in a sample of 167 healthy volunteers (96 female, 71 male). ⋯ This study examines the association of the A118G SNP of OPRM1 to experimental pain sensitivity. The results indicate that the rare allele is associated with higher pressure pain thresholds. These results support previous contentions that OPRM1 may be a pain-relevant gene; however, replication of these findings is needed.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between pain symptoms, daily functioning, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and subjectively reported sleep disturbances in adolescents with chronic pain. Depressive symptoms were tested as a general risk factor for increased sleep problems. During routine subspecialty clinic visits, 86 adolescents (mean age, 14.75 years; 67% female) diagnosed with chronic headaches, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or sickle cell disease completed measures to assess pain, sleep disturbances, functional disability, depression, and HRQOL. ⋯ Sleep disturbances have been described in adult patients with chronic pain, but little is known about sleep in adolescents with chronic pain. This study examined the complex interrelationship between sleep, pain, mood, functioning, and HRQOL. Findings suggest that mood is strongly related to sleep and might share common pathophysiologic or behavioral origins in adolescents with chronic pain.
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Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome (VVS) is associated with enhanced pain sensitivity. The present study explores the role of personality on the perception of noxious stimuli among women with VVS. More specifically, the aim of the study was to explore whether the personality traits assessed by Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) (harm avoidance [HA], novelty seeking [NS], and reward dependence [RD]) are associated with the augmented pain perception in women with VVS. ⋯ The enhanced pain perception among women with VVS might reflect their tendency to respond intensely to signals of reward and to elevate the perceived risk. This might lead them to avoid hazards by overestimating the level of potential harm, as represented by greater pain sensitivity. The association between personality traits assessed by Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire, ie, harm avoidance, novelty seeking, and reward dependence, and the enhanced perception of noxious stimuli in vulvar vestibulitis syndrome might suggest neurochemical mechanisms of pain experience affected by personality, with possible application for future treatment approaches toward pain disorders.