Current pain and headache reports
-
This article discusses what is known of and written regarding the possible association of cluster headache and head trauma. There is additional discussion of conditions other than direct head trauma that are also seen in association with cluster headache. These conditions bring into question the concept of primary versus secondary cluster headache and raise the possible need to expand the category of secondary cluster headache. With increasing knowledge of the pathophysiology of cluster headache, the potentially causative role of head trauma in the development of cluster headache may become better defined.
-
Curr Pain Headache Rep · Apr 2007
ReviewDoes aerobic exercise improve pain perception and mood? A review of the evidence related to healthy and chronic pain subjects.
Aerobic exercise can cause an acute improvement in mood as well as a reduction in the perception of pain from a painful stimulus. Regular exercise training also may offer some protection from depression, is clinically useful in treating certain psychiatric and chronic pain conditions, and may allow for an enhancement of the acute improvements in mood from a single exercise session. The utility of aerobic exercise training for improving mood disturbances and pain perception among patients with chronic pain requires further investigation.
-
Curr Pain Headache Rep · Apr 2007
ReviewDoes thalidomide have an analgesic effect? Current status and future directions.
Dramatic relief of pain and life-altering changes in quality of life in some patients treated with immunomodulators such as thalidomide compel us to look more closely at unconventional mechanisms that may be involved in propagation of persistent pain. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and IL-10 are the cytokines with the most evidence in pain modulation. TNF-alpha and IL-1beta seem to initiate neuropathic pain, IL-6 maintains such pain, and IL-10 inhibits this persistent pain. ⋯ Thalidomide may be an alternative for some patients with intractable pain. However, use of thalidomide is limited by its neurotoxic and teratogenic effects. Newer analogues may significantly improve the risk/benefit of using such immunomodulators.
-
Curr Pain Headache Rep · Apr 2007
Evidence for a mismatch between the brain's movement control system and sensory system as an explanation for some pain-related disorders.
The motor-control system usually operates below our conscious level, and we only become aware of the complex interaction between desired movements and actual movements when an irregularity in the system occurs. Recently, it has been proposed that such discordances in sensorimotor function may generate pain and other somaesthetic disturbances. This article describes this model of pain and determines how it may be applied to a range of chronic pain conditions in which there is a lack of obvious causal pathology, including complex regional pain syndrome. In addition, we discuss the clinical implications of such a theory and examine how enhancing sensory feedback may reduce chronic pain.
-
Cluster headache has long been considered a predominantly male disorder, with much of our knowledge based on studies of men. However, it has become increasingly more recognized in women. Although there are many similarities between men and women in the expression of the disorder, studies over the years have revealed gender differences. This article reviews epidemiologic, clinical, hormonal, and familial differences between male and female cluster patients, examines how they may affect treatment, and suggests studies that may give us a better understanding of the disorder.