-
Discovery could eventually help diagnose and treat chronic pain
More than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. But treating and studying chronic pain is complex and presents many challenges. Scientists have long searched for a method to objectively measure pain and a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital advances that effort. The study appears in the January 2013 print edition of the journal Pain. “While we need to be cautious in the interpretation of our results, this has the potential to be an exciting discovery for anyone who suffers from chronic pain,” said Marco Loggia, PhD, the lead author of the study and a researcher in the Pain Management Center at BWH and the Department of Radiology…
-
Immediate treatment can alleviate future back problems, research suggests
Immediate treatment by a physiotherapist, bypassing a waiting list, can reduce problems with recurring low back pain, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Many people suffer with low back pain, and most get better. However, those who suffer with long-term pain can find that their work, everyday and leisure activities are limited to varying degrees. Given that long-term pain often requires extensive treatment, it is important that the pain be treated at an early stage. “I wanted to find out whether patients’ low back pain could be alleviated in the long run if primary care clinics could offer examinations and treatment by a physiotherapist without any delay…
-
How badly does it hurt? Research examines the biomedical diagnosis of pain
Is the science of diagnosing pain causing a number of pain sufferers to defend their honor? Research out of the University of Cincinnati is examining the diagnosis of pain that evades scientific testing, and the additional emotional suffering that can result for the patient. The research by Elizabeth Sweeney, a doctoral candidate in UC’s Department of Sociology, was presented August 16 at the 105th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Atlanta. The paper, “Defining Reality: How Biomedical Researchers Determine the Existence of Pain,” analyzed more than 20 articles randomly selected from the peer-reviewed international academic journal PAIN®, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of…
-
New principle discovered for how muscle pain is signaled
Chronic muscular pain may be linked to a previously unknown principle for how pain signals are transmitted in the human body. This is shown by Umeå University researchers Tuija Athanassiadis and Karl-Gunnar Westberg, in collaboration with Canadian associates, in the scientific journal PLoS ONE. Muscles have sensory organs called muscle spindles. Their task is to inform the brain of changes in muscle length. Muscle spindles therefore contain a special type of large diameter nerve filaments that signal stretch of the muscle. The Umeå scientists’ studies show that muscle spindles also contain fine nerve filaments with pain receptors. When a muscle is damaged as a result of overloading, these pain receptors…
-
Biological Link Between Pain And Fatigue Discovered
A recent University of Iowa study reveals a biological link between pain and fatigue and may help explain why more women than men are diagnosed with chronic pain and fatigue conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Working with mice, the researchers, led by Kathleen Sluka, Ph.D., professor in the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, found that a protein involved in muscle pain works in conjunction with the male hormone testosterone to protect against muscle fatigue. Chronic pain and fatigue often occur together — as many as three in four people with chronic, widespread musculoskeletal…
-
MRE Could Provide A Definitive Diagnosis For People With Muscle Pain, Study Shows
An estimated nine million men and women in the United States live with myofascial pain syndrome, a condition marked by pain that permeates muscles in the neck, back and shoulders. The condition is difficult to diagnose and not entirely understood, but research studies indicate that a new imaging technology developed at Mayo Clinic holds promise for a definitive diagnosis and, perhaps eventually, new treatments for people who have the syndrome. A Mayo Clinic study published in the November issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation shows that magnetic resonance elastography, or MRE, can provide images of the affected muscle with clarity and insight not possible with magnetic resonance…
-
Fibromyalgia Increases Pain And Fatigue For Pregnant Women
Pregnant women with fibromyalgia (FM) experience significant pain, fatigue and psychological stress, symptoms that are often misdiagnosed or undertreated as a normal part of pregnancy, according to a pilot study by Karen M. Schaefer, D.N.Sc., R.N., assistant professor of nursing at Temple University’s College of Health Professions. Her research, the first to look at the impact of pregnancy on women with FM, was recently presented at the 2006 Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses’ convention in Baltimore. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition commonly found in women that causes pain in the muscles and soft tissues of the body. Many sufferers feel weak from fatigue, and the condition, at…
-
Nearly Half of Giant Cell Arteritis Patients on Actemra for a Year Stay in Remission After Stopping It
“Giant cell arteritis requires ongoing management, but it does not necessarily require continuous treatment.” In 2017, tocilizumab (Actemra), a biologic drug that inhibits interleukin-6 (IL-6), was FDA-approved for giant cell arteritis — an inflammation of the lining of the arteries. At the time there was sufficient research showing that tocilizumab was better than prednisone (a steroid) for helping many patients reach remission in GCA. Yet it was unclear whether those who had reached remission should stop taking the drug or if they needed to continue using it. Now a new study, presented at the 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Professionals Annual Meeting in Atlanta, offers good news: A…
-
Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A New Way to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis
Some people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) take a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) and/or a biologic and reach remission. Others try drug after drug after drug and never find one that’s effective — or that treats their symptoms without causing intolerable side effects. At the same time, other patients with active disease refuse to take the most powerful and effective medications on the market or can’t take them because of their medical history or personal risk factors that would make doing so dangerous. While many scientists are continuing to explore better drug options, some are focused on developing new treatments that aren’t medications at all. One such experimental approach that’s gaining…
-
Taking Hydroxychloroquine for RA or Lupus Can Reduce Heart Risk by 17%
The anti-malarial drug lowers cholesterol and blood sugar and makes blood less sticky, which is good for reducing blood clots and heart attack risk. If you take the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) as part of your treatment for lupus or rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you may be getting cardiovascular protection as an added bonus. That’s welcome news because it’s estimated that about half of lupus patients experience heart complications, and heart attacks occur at younger ages in lupus patients than in the general population. Even as young adults, black and Hispanic women with lupus often have plaque build-up in their arteries that hikes their risk of heart attack. And experts have…
