Pain
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The propensity for breast cancer to metastasize to bone is coupled to the most common complaint among breast cancer patients: bone pain. Classically, this type of pain is treated using escalating doses of opioids, which lack long-term efficacy due to analgesic tolerance, opioid-induced hypersensitivity, and have recently been linked to enhanced bone loss. To date, the molecular mechanisms underlying these adverse effects have not been fully explored. ⋯ Genetic MOR knockout did not mitigate chronic morphine hypersensitivity or bone loss. In vitro studies using RAW264.7 murine macrophages precursor cells demonstrated morphine-enhanced osteoclastogenesis that was inhibited by the TLR4 antagonist. Together, these data indicate that morphine induces osteolysis and hypersensitivity that are mediated, in part, through a TLR4 receptor mechanism.
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Historical Article
International Association for the Study of Pain publications over the 50-year span.
The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) has a 50-year history of publishing educational and research materials, ranging from traditional print format books, journals, and other informational formats to online and electronic formats. Here we provide a historical overview of IASP publications and reflections from the perspective of 5 former or current Editors-in-Chief.
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The decades since the inauguration of the International Association for the Study of Pain have witnessed major advances in scientific concepts (such as the biopsychosocial model and chronic primary pain as a disease in its own right) and in new technologies and approaches (from molecular biology to brain imaging) that have inspired innovations in pain research. These have guided progress in pain management and education about pain for healthcare professionals, the general public, and administrative agencies.
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Somatosensory information is delivered to neuronal networks of the dorsal horn (DH) of the spinal cord by the axons of primary afferent neurons that encode the intensity of peripheral sensory stimuli under the form of a code based on the frequency of action potential firing. The efficient processing of these messages within the DH involves frequency-tuned synapses, a phenomenon linked to their ability to display activity-dependent forms of short-term plasticity (STP). ⋯ The STP properties of DH inhibitory synapses might also, at least in part, participate in the pain-relieving effect of nonpharmacological analgesic procedures, such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, electroacupuncture, or spinal cord stimulation. The properties of target-specific STP at inhibitory DH synapses and their possible contribution to electrical stimulation-induced reduction of hyperalgesic and allodynic states in chronic pain will be reviewed and discussed.
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Supporting its young members has been a key priority of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) for the past 5 decades. The IASP, along with its federations, chapters, and special interest groups, has provided benefits to its trainee and early career members for their career development. This article summarizes various key IASP initiatives and benefits offered to IASP members and how these benefits have positively impacted their careers, including examples from the authors of this article. Suggestions are made for future directions that the IASP could implement to enhance the value provided to its trainee and early career members, which will in turn contribute to IASP achieving its mission to stimulate and support the study of pain and to translate that knowledge into improved pain relief worldwide.