Current pain and headache reports
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Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is either a symptom or a syndrome depending on criteria for diagnosis. CRF is present in 20% to 30% of long-term cancer survivors and 80% to 90% during treatment and at the end of life. Assessment requires determining the presence, severity, and interference with daily activities. ⋯ Associated factors that contribute to the severity of fatigue differ depending on the stage of cancer. Pharmacologic interventions include recombinant erythropoietin, psychostimulants, corticosteroid, anti-inflammatory drugs other than steroids, and L-carnitine. Advances in the management of CRF will require an understanding of the underlying mechanism before target-specific therapies can be developed.
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The connection between headache and the cervical spine has been a theme of debate for decades. Cervicogenic headache is a headache related to the cervical spine that often is misdiagnosed and treated inadequately because of confusing and varying terminology. In this article, we discuss our experience in diagnosing and treating cervicogenic headache.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Jun 2006
ReviewDuloxetine for neuropathic pain based on recent clinical trials.
The treatment of neuropathic pain with antidepressants has a long history. Early studies were contradictory and were limited by small numbers of patients. ⋯ Recently, duloxetine, a dual-action reuptake inhibitor, has demonstrated significant efficacy in the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain in three double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and was approved by the FDA for this indication. These studies are discussed in this article.
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The paradigm of early treatment of the migraine attack at mild pain intensity has become one alternative to circumventing the problem of compromised oral absorption of symptomatic drugs due to migraine-induced gastrointestinal dysmotility. Early treatment also has been proposed to be advantageous because most migraineurs could be less responsive to delayed treatment, owing to the development of central sensitization of the trigeminal pain transmission. Ranking the underlying principles, it seems that the improved response to an oral triptan formulation at mild migraine symptom intensity has more to do with less impaired gastrointestinal absorption in the early stage of the attack than decreasing the time and preventing chances for central sensitization and development of cutaneous allodynia. ⋯ Individually tailored use of the available triptan formulations will increase, without any doubt, the within-migraineur consistency of response. It also will reduce the overall proportion of migraine attacks or migraineurs not responding to triptan treatment. Notwithstanding, the recommendation of early treatment during the migraine attack when the pain is mild remains valid.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Jun 2006
ReviewInsights from experimental studies into allodynia and its treatment.
Migraine is a common disorder that often is accompanied by cutaneous allodynia. Cutaneous allodynia on the head has been linked to sensitization of neurons in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis in animal models of migraine. In addition, migraine with allodynia is refractory to acute treatment with triptans. ⋯ This paper reviews recent research on the pathogenesis of headache and the generation of allodynia. We discuss the regions of the nervous system that are involved in generating and maintaining headache pain and allodynia. We also discuss recent advances in the treatment of migraine based on translation research.