Current pain and headache reports
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Dec 2009
ReviewMechanisms by which sleep disturbance contributes to osteoarthritis pain: a conceptual model.
Sleep disturbance is prevalent in aging and painful rheumatologic populations, but it has largely been a neglected dimension of the routine clinical care of arthritis patients. Pain associated with osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and factors that contribute to pain in OA are poorly understood. Sleep disturbance is not only a consequence of pain, it is also likely to play an integral role in pain expression. ⋯ This article reviews the extant literature on sleep disturbance and hyperalgesia in patients with OA. We propose a conceptual working model describing pathways by which sleep disturbance interacts directly with central pain processing mechanisms and inflammatory processes, and indirectly with mood and physical functioning to augment clinical OA pain. The clinical and research implications of the model are discussed.
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Joint hypermobility syndrome (JHS) was initially defined as the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the presence of joint laxity and hypermobility in otherwise healthy individuals. It is now perceived as a commonly overlooked, underdiagnosed, multifaceted, and multisystemic heritable disorder of connective tissue (HDCT), which shares many of the phenotypic features of other HDCTs such as Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. ⋯ There is hardly a clinical specialty to be found that is not touched in one way or another by JHS. Over the past decade, it has become evident that of all the complications that may arise in JHS, chronic pain is arguably the most menacing and difficult to treat.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Dec 2009
ReviewUpdate on the management of pain in arthritis and the use of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors.
Chronic pain from arthritis continues to be one of the biggest causes of disability and loss of function in the United States today. This is still the case despite many new insights into the pathophysiology of pain, effective treatment approaches, and new, safer medications that can be used long-term. There are many different types of arthritic problems. ⋯ To complicate treatment for this condition, the most widely used group of medications is under new scrutiny because of concerns regarding long-term detrimental side effects. A complete understanding of the risk factors for NSAIDs, specifically cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, is still not available. But published data and new clinical guidelines still suggest that treatment for this large category of diseases can be effective and safe.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Dec 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialMemantine for the prophylaxis of chronic tension-type headache.