Pain
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Comparative Study
Effects of gabapentin on spontaneous discharges and subthreshold membrane potential oscillation of type A neurons in injured DRG.
Ectopic spontaneous discharges play a critical role for both initiation and maintenance of the neuropathic pain state. Gabapentin (GBP) has been shown to be effective in animal models of neuropathic pain as well as in chronic pain patients. To investigate the peripheral mechanisms of GBP, the effects of GBP on spontaneous discharges and subthreshold membrane potential oscillation (SMPO) of chronically compressed dorsal root ganglion (DRG) were examined electrophysiolocally in vitro. ⋯ Furthermore, we found that the SMPO of injured DRG cells can be selectively abolished by GBP without interrupting spike propagation. The results suggest that the inhibitory effect of GBP on SMPO might be one of the membrane mechanisms of action of GBP. This may partially explain the antinociceptive action of GBP by directly suppression nociceptive afferent input to the spinal cord.
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Comparative Study
The relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health, mental health, and pain in a chronic pain population.
This study sought to better understand the relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health and mental health in 122 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The current study conceptualized religion/spirituality as a multidimensional factor, and measured it with a new measure of religion/spirituality for research on health outcomes (Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religion/Spirituality). Pain patients' religious and spiritual beliefs appear different than the general population (e.g. pain patients feel less desire to reduce pain in the world and feel more abandoned by God). ⋯ Forgiveness, negative religious coping, daily spiritual experiences, religious support, and self-rankings of religious/spiritual intensity significantly predicted mental health status. Religion/spirituality was unrelated to pain intensity and life interference due to pain. This study establishes relationships between religion/spirituality and health in a chronic pain population, and emphasizes that religion/spirituality may have both costs and benefits for the health of those with chronic pain.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Towards a new taxonomy of idiopathic orofacial pain.
There is no current consensus on the taxonomy of the different forms of idiopathic orofacial pain (stomatodynia, atypical odontalgia, atypical facial pain, facial arthromyalgia), which are sometimes considered as separate entities and sometimes grouped together. In the present prospective multicentric study, we used a systematic approach to help to place these different painful syndromes in the general classification of chronic facial pain. This multicenter study was carried out on 245 consecutive patients presenting with chronic facial pain (>4 months duration). ⋯ Inside this large cluster, only stomatodynia (n=42) emerged as a distinct homogenous subgroup. In contrast, facial arthromyalgia (n=46) and an entity formed with atypical facial pain (n=25) and atypical odontalgia (n=13) could only be individualised by variables reflecting topographical characteristics. These data provide grounds for an evidence-based classification of idiopathic facial pain entities and indicate that the current sub-classification of these syndromes relies primarily on the topography of the symptoms.
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Comparative Study
The Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ): further psychometric examination in a non-clinical sample.
The present study sought to examine psychometric properties of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ), a measure of pain-related fear, in a sample of undergraduates. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the previously reported three-factor model of the FPQ (e.g. severe pain, minor pain, medical pain), but some items may be redundant. With respect to the reliability of the FPQ, both the FPQ and the subscales showed good internal consistency and test-retest stability was moderate to good. ⋯ Moreover, modest correlation coefficients were found between the FPQ and other pain-related measures. Finally, the minor pain subscale of the FPQ accounted for pain intensity scores on the ischemic pain test and the remaining subscales and the FPQ total scores accounted for pain tolerance on the electrical stimulation test and the thermal pain test. Results are discussed and directions for future research are provided.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Lack of sex differences in modulation of experimental intraoral pain by diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC).
The aims of this study were to investigate possible sex differences in (a) intraoral pain evoked by topical application of capsaicin to the gingiva, and (b) the modulation of this pain by diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC). Three groups with a total of fifty-four healthy volunteers (20 men, 20 women using oral contraceptives (W+OC), 14 women not using (W-OC)) completed the study. In two sessions, intraoral pain was evoked by topical application of 30microL 5% capsaicin to the gingiva. ⋯ The degree of modulation by DNIC did not differ between groups (P=0.636). In conclusion, for a superficial type of intraoral pain, only minor sex differences were found in pain intensity and no differences in the degree of endogenous modulation by DNIC. Female sex and the use of OC may not consistently be associated with higher sensitivity to pain.