Open Access Pub publishes peer-reviewed, free-to-read open-access articles. Showing
articles matching chronic pain — open any to read the full text,
or download the PDF or XML.
Oct 2024 DOI 10.14302/issn.2688-5328.ijp-24-5319
Puri NivritiCorresponding author
Chronic pain affects over 30% of the global population, and reliance on external drugs for treatment has led to major issues, including the present opioid epidemic. A healthier option is necessary, which is why music therapy’s analgesic effects have been extensively studied within the last 20 years. Not only is music relatively harmless but given that chronic pain patients require repeated treatment, musical intervention is far more accessible and economical. While the mechanisms underlying music-induced analgesia are relatively unclear, the production of endogenous opioids while listening to music through both the descending pain modulatory circuit and the limbic system, is postulated to play this role. This review describes the brain regions and pathways by which music may trigger the release of endogenous opioids such as enkephalins, endorphins, and dynorphins. More importantly, it discusses the cellular mechanisms through which these neuropeptides are thought to mediate pleasure-induced analgesia in chronic pain patients.
Aug 2023 DOI 10.14302/issn.2688-5328.ijp-23-4624
James AndersonCorresponding author
Periauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (pVNS) has been proven safe and effective in reducing chronic pain and related comorbidities in numerous clinical studies. This multicenter, interventional study used a non-randomized, interrupted time-series analysis to test the efficacy of an 8-week treatment protocol using the Stivax neurostimulator device. Subjects (n=33, 15 F, 18 M, age 40-77) were recruited at 3 clinic sites in California and Colorado. All subjects had long-term chronic pain and had failed other treatments. Subjects were treated with the Stivax device 3 times (2 weeks on, 1 week off). Subjective assessments of pain (Visual Analog Scale), disability (Oswestry Disability Index), depression (PHQ-9), and activity (IPAQ-E) were collected at baseline and weekly. Objective blood levels of pain-related cytokines collected at the end of weeks 2 and 8. Most subjects reported reduced pain, disability, and depression, with increased activity levels. At the end of week 8, subjects reported an average reduction in pain by 38.5% (3 subjects reported no pain), depression by 43.6% (2 subjects reported no depression), disability by 38.6% (2 subjects reported no disability), and an average 26.1% increase in activity level (5 subjects doubled their activity level). Levels of the pain-related cytokines IL-1ꞵ, IL-2, IL-3, IL-7, IL-10, IL-15, IL-17α, IL-21, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and FLT3-ligand showed improvement at week 8. pVNS is believed to “reset” central sensitization underlying chronic pain and other central sensitization syndromes, engaging the body’s pain modulation systems. Our results indicate that pVNS can clinically significantly improve chronic pain and associated morbidities without adverse effects.
Jun 2019 DOI 10.14302/issn.2688-5328.ijp-19-2731
Wei XiangCorresponding author
Hospital of Suzhou University, Suzhou, China
The rise of epigenetics provides a new idea for studying the regulation of chronic pain-related genes and synaptic plasticity. External environmental stimuli can regulate BDNF genes through different epigenetic modifications. The epigenetic changes of the BDNF gene can affect the expression of its mRNA and protein and participate in the development of chronic pain. By reviewing the literature, this paper reviews the mechanism of epigenetic regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in chronic pain, which provides some new directions and targets for the treatment of chronic pain.
Jun 2017 DOI 10.14302/issn.2576-9359.jot-17-1570
A. ForsbergCorresponding author
Institute of Health Sciences at Lund University, Sweden.
Chronic bodily pain after lung transplantation has received little attention. Therefore, the aim was to provide a multidimensional assessment of self-reported chronic pain 1-5 years after lung transplantation and its relationship with self-reported psychological general well-being (PGWB) and self-efficacy. This multicenter, cross-sectional study is a part of the Swedish national study: Self-management after thoracic transplantation (SMATT). In total, 117 lung transplant recipients, all white, due for their yearly follow-up at one (n=35), two (n=28), three (n=23), four (n=20) or five years (n=11) after transplantation were included. Of these, 113 reported their pain on the Pain-O-Meter (POM), which provides information about pain intensity, quality, location, and duration. In addition, they responded to the PGWB instrument and the Self-Efficacy instrument for managing chronic disease. The prevalence of pain was 51% after 1 year, 68 % after 2 years, 69.5 % after 3 years, 75 % after 4 years and 54.5 % after 5 years. Women experienced higher pain intensity and worse sensory and affective burden than men. Psychological general well-being was the main factor that contributed to the experience of pain. Better perceived psychological well-being lowered the odds for pain, while higher self-efficacy reduced the probability of experiencing pain. Many of the lung recipients lacked pain treatment and were uncertain about the reasons behind their pain. Chronic bodily pain is a common and serious symptom up to five years after lung transplantation. Female lung recipients experience more pain and pain related illness than men.
Mar 2017
Vélez Ortiz DanielCorresponding author
School of Social Work, Michigan State University
The objective of this study was to examine differences between Latino and White older adults in attitudes toward suicide and physician-assisted suicide in chronic pain scenarios. We used a cross sectional study design at four outpatient care sites in San Antonio, Texas. The study sample included 204 subjects (106 Whites and 98 Latinos), 60 years of age and older, with Mini Mental State Examination scores of 24 or higher. No statistically significant between ethnic group differences in attitudes toward suicide or physician-assisted suicide in chronic pain scenarios were found. However, separate analyses by ethnic group showed that the factors associated with these attitudes differed between ethnic groups, with attitudes among Whites significantly and negatively associated with religiosity and those among Latinos significantly and positively associated with depression, while acculturation was significantly and negatively associated with attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide in chronic pain scenarios. This study’s findings suggest that depression and acculturation among Latino elders and religion among White elders are determinant factors of these attitudes in chronic pain, end-of-life scenarios. Further research is needed with more heterogeneous study samples, including Latino subgroups (e.g. Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans) and more diverse ethnic groups in terms of socioeconomic status and educational level characteristics.
Jul 2020 DOI 10.14302/issn.2377-2549.jndc-20-3413
M.A. Shihata AhmedCorresponding author
Forensic Medicine Authority, Chemical Lab, Egypt
Two analgesic were determined opium (morphine) and tramadol and comparison between two methods of extractions from biological samples. Opium and its derivatives and tramadol are the most commonly used medications for treatment of acute and chronic pain. opium was used as a sedative and hypnotic, but it was determined to be addictive and tramadol prescribed narcotic analgesic; main metabolite of opium is morphine and tramadol overdose was reported old male 40 years. Morphine and tramadol isolated by two methods of extraction, Stas Otto and ammonium sulfate extraction from liver tissues and comparison between efficiency of the two methods. Liver extractions have morphine and tramadol was quantified by GC-MS. Morphine was determined in liver concentration 176 u/g in Stas Otto. Liver concentration of morphine 267 u/g in ammonium sulfate extraction. Tramadol was determined in liver concentration 26.18 u/g in Stas Otto. Liver concentration of tramadol 22.41 u/g in ammonium sulfate extraction.