Articles: pain-management.
-
Cannabis is used by one-third of people living with chronic pain to alleviate their symptoms despite warnings from several organizations regarding its efficacy and safety. We currently know little about self-medication practices (use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes without guidance), mainly since the legalization of recreational cannabis in countries such as Canada has expanded the scope of this phenomenon. This study aimed to describe legal cannabis self-medication for pain relief in people living with chronic pain and to explore perceptions of the effectiveness and safety of cannabis. ⋯ Cannabis research is often organized around medical vs. non-medical cannabis but in the real-world, those two vessels are connected. Interested parties, including researchers, healthcare professionals and funding agencies, need to consider this. Patients using cannabis feel confident in the safety of cannabis, and many of them self-medicate, which calls for action.
-
The field of pain medicine mourns the passing of Professor Michael J. Cousins, a towering figure who reshaped the landscape of pain management for anesthetists and pain specialists globally. Professor Cousins was not merely a luminary in the field; he was a visionary whose contributions have profoundly shaped the understanding and treatment of pain.
-
Using cross-sectional data from the United States, England, China, and India, we examined the relationship between education and frequent pain, alongside the modification role of gender in this relationship. We further examined patterns of 3 pain dimensions among participants who reported frequent pain, including pain severity, interference with daily activities, and medication use (these pain dimension questions were not administered in all countries). Our analytical sample included 92,204 participants aged 50 years and above. ⋯ In the United States, these associations were stronger among women. Our findings highlight the prevalent pain among middle-aged and older adults in these 4 countries and emphasize the potentially protective role of higher education on frequent pain, with nuanced gender differences across different settings. This underscores the need for tailored strategies considering educational and gender differences to improve pain management and awareness.
-
Painful neuropathy is a pathological condition caused by numerous factors including diabetes, chemotherapy or cancer. ART26.12 is a novel fatty acid-binding protein 5 inhibitor, which our group showed could prevent and treat persistent pain in a preclinical model of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. ⋯ This work now shows that ART26.12, a novel and selective inhibitor of FABP5, can prevent and treat multiple preclinical models of peripheral neuropathy. Given its excellent safety profile, further work is warranted to develop ART26.12 as a potential therapeutic tool for pain management.
-
Spontaneous renal artery dissection is a rare condition with nonspecific symptoms that can be challenging to diagnose. We present the case of a 25-year-old male presenting with left flank pain, mild leukocytosis, and a benign urinalysis found to have renal artery dissection on computed tomography angiogram. The patient's condition improved following conservative management with anticoagulants. This case demonstrates that Spontaneous renal artery dissection may be a potential cause of renal artery infarction in young, previously healthy patients.