Pain physician
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Neuropathic pain occurs for various reasons involving adenosine receptors. One of several drugs used to control neuropathic pain is amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant. Amitriptyline has an antinociceptive effect on the A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR). However, the exact mechanisms underlying A3AR activation remain unclear. ⋯ The release of proinflammatory cytokines via NF-kB expression and subsequent inflammatory responses is significantly associated with the development of neuropathic pain. Our study reveals that AMI effectively suppresses NF-kB-related proinflammatory cytokines, offering a promising avenue for treating pain related to peripheral nerve injuries. These findings provide valuable insights into neuropathic pain management.
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Although chronic pain is generally treated with pharmacological and surgical interventions, many patients still fail to reach adequate pain relief through these methods. Patients and providers have looked to complementary and alternative strategies for managing chronic pain due to these methods' feasibility and cost-effectiveness and patients' preferences for them. Some promising interventions for chronic pain include resistance training, fasting therapy, sauna therapy, and cryotherapy. ⋯ The experimental evidence that confirms the pain-alleviating properties of these therapeutic modalities is scarce and warrants further investigation. However, a substantial amount of work supports the use of these modalities in the multimodal and multidisciplinary managements of chronic pain disorders. Future work should continue to elucidate the relationships between chronic pain disorders and resistance training, fasting therapy, sauna therapy, and cryotherapy so that guidelines can be developed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Clinical Trial of Ozonated Water Enema for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia: A Randomized, Double-Blind Trial.
The pathogenesis of fibromyalgia (FM) is currently unknown. Many patients with this condition are not effectively treated, and disorders of the intestinal dysbiosis have been identified in patients with FM. This trial aimed to investigate whether ozonated water enema could alleviate the symptoms of FM by improving intestinal dysbiosis in these patients. ⋯ This trial confirmed that the symptoms of pain, anxiety, and sleep disorders in FM patients were effectively relieved after treatment with an ozonated water enema. Furthermore, the ozonated water enema was associated with a significant reduction in duloxetine dosage and improved gut microbiome disorder, suggesting that the enema could target disorders related to the gut microbiome and therefore serve as a therapeutic intervention for FM.
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Cancer-related neuropathic pain significantly affects patients' quality of life. Despite existing treatments, pain control remains inadequate for many of these patients. There is a lack of strong evidence for the efficacy of the combination of pregabalin, which is often used to treat neuropathic pain, and opioids for treating cancer-related neuropathic pain. ⋯ Pregabalin combined with opioids reduces cancer-related neuropathic pain but increases dizziness, somnolence, and peripheral edema, thus supporting its use in the clinic for treating cancer-related neuropathic pain. However, further high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.