Current pain and headache reports
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Jun 2014
ReviewUnderstanding placebo and nocebo responses for pain management.
Placebo analgesia makes individuals experience relief of their pain simply by virtue of the anticipation of a benefit. A reduction of pain can occur also when placebos follow the administration of active and effective painkillers. In fact, studies indicate that placebos mimic the action of active treatments and promote the endogenous release of opioids in both humans and animals. ⋯ Thus, different psychological factors and situations induce expectations of analgesia facilitating the activation of the top-down systems for pain control along with the release of endogenous mediators crucially involved in placebo-induced benefits. Recent scientific investigation in the field of brain imaging is opening new avenues to understanding the cognitive mechanisms and neurobiological substrates of expectation-induced pain modulation. Gaining deeper knowledge of top-down mechanisms of pain modulation has enormous implications for personalizing and optimizing pain management.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Jun 2014
ReviewUltrasound-guided stellate ganglion block: safety and efficacy.
Cervical sympathetic and stellate ganglion blocks (SGB) provide a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic benefit to sympathetically maintained pain syndromes in the head, neck, and upper extremity. With the ongoing efforts to improve the safety of the procedure, the techniques for SGB have evolved over time, from the use of the standard blind technique, to fluoroscopy, and recently to the ultrasound (US)-guided approach. Over the past few years, there has been a growing interest in the ultrasound-guided technique and the many advantages that it might offer. ⋯ This allows for a more effective and precise sympathetic block with the use of a small injectate volume. Ultrasound-guided SGB may also improve the safety of the procedure by direct visualization of vascular structures (inferior thyroidal, cervical, vertebral, and carotid arteries) and soft tissue structures (thyroid, esophagus, and nerve roots). Accordingly, the risk of vascular and soft tissue injury may be minimized.
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Low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure results in neurologic deficits, of which the most common manifestation is headache. Typically, the headache is postural - and specifically, orthostatic - in presentation. There are three hypotheses to explain the occurrence of headache associated with low CSF fluid. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain with gadolinium is the first study of choice, which typically reveals diffuse pachymeningeal enhancement and, frequently, cerebellar tonsillar descent and posterior fossa crowding. Epidural blood patch (EBP) is the treatment of choice. Surgery and epidural fibrin glue injection are options for those who fail conservative therapy and/or EBP.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Jun 2014
ReviewIt IS a tumor -- current review of headache and brain tumor.
"Do I have a tumor?" This is a question in every person's mind when first confronted with a new-onset headache, a question that causes considerable anxiety among patients, leading them to seek medical evaluation. This publication reviews the current literature with respect to the epidemiology, pathophysiology presentation, and treatment of headaches in association with intracranial neoplasm.
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Breakthrough pain is a distinct pain state that is common in patients with cancer pain and which is associated with significant morbidity in this group of patients. The aim of this article is to highlight important journal articles relating to breakthrough pain that have been published within the last year, including a systematic review of the epidemiology of breakthrough pain, the largest-ever study of the clinical features of breakthrough pain, and a network meta-analysis of the treatment of breakthrough pain.