European journal of pain : EJP
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Acceptance as a process variable in relation to catastrophizing in multidisciplinary pain treatment.
The underlying processes of change that contribute to the effectiveness of multidisciplinary pain treatment require clarification. Previous research has found support for pain acceptance as a process variable in acceptance-based treatment. Preliminary findings indicate that pain acceptance may also be a process variable in traditional cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of pain acceptance as a process variable in CBT relative to two empirically supported process variables, namely catastrophizing and pain intensity. ⋯ Although not specifically targeted in CBT treatment, acceptance of pain was an important process variable that contributed to CBT treatment outcomes after controlling for changes in pain intensity and catastrophizing. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.
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Few studies focus on how physicians evaluate pain in foreign-born patients with varying cultural backgrounds. This study aimed to compare pain ratings [visual analogue scale (VAS) 0-100] done by Swedish primary care physicians and their patients, and to analyse which factors predicted physicians' higher ratings of pain in patients aged 18-45 years with long-standing disabling back pain. ⋯ Physicians appear to overlook psychological and emotional aspects when rating the pain of patients from other cultural backgrounds. This finding highlights a potential problem in multicultural care settings.
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We investigated whether patients with painful chronic pancreatitis (CP) present abnormalities in the cerebral response to experimental pain stimuli. ⋯ Taken together, CP patients had an abnormal cerebral response to repetitive thermal stimuli. This was most prominent after stimulation of the upper abdominal area. As this area share spinal innervation with the pancreatic gland, these findings likely mirror distinctive abnormalities in cerebral pain processing.
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The role of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) in nociception has been explored in the last years. While in spinal cord their activation is frequently correlated with pain or acute noxious stimuli, supraspinally, this association is not so evident and remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate ERK1/2 activation in the spinal cord and brainstem nuclei upon neuropathy and/or an additional mechanical stimulus. ⋯ ERK1/2 are differentially activated in the spinal cord and in selected brainstem nuclei implicated in nociception, in response to an acute noxious stimulus and/or to a neuropathic pain condition.
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Paclitaxel is an antimitotic antitumour drug highly effective against a broad range of cancers considered refractory to conventional chemotherapy. One of the main serious side effects of paclitaxel treatment is the induction of peripheral neuropathic pain that often diminishes the patient's quality of life. In this study, we evaluated the severity of the neuropathy induced by paclitaxel and the inflammatory reaction in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in young, adult and aged male CD1 mice. ⋯ Our results demonstrate that paclitaxel-induced neuropathy in mice is an age-dependent phenomenon whose severity devolves on glial response.