European journal of pain : EJP
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Differential effects on sensory functions and measures of epidermal nerve fiber density after application of a lidocaine patch (5%) on healthy human skin.
Topical application of lidocaine is an effective approach for treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia and other painful neuropathies. Lidocaine inhibits voltage-gated Na(+) channels and it most likely reduces excitability of cutaneous sensory neurons which can be hyperexcitable or spontaneously active in states of neuropathic pain. However, lidocaine and other local anesthetics also exert a pronounced neurotoxicity and they activate the irritant receptors TRPV1 and TRPA1. ⋯ In conclusion, lidocaine patches seem to have differential effects on sensory modalities in healthy skin. A degeneration of epidermal nerve fibers has previously been demonstrated for patches containing the TRPV1-agonist capsaicin and our findings suggest that this effect might also be relevant for lidocaine patches. These data warrant further studies on molecular mechanisms mediating a relief of neuropathic pain by topical lidocaine.
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Review
Understanding fear of pain in chronic pain: interoceptive fear conditioning as a novel approach.
The current review deals with interoceptive conditioning as a viable mechanism maintaining fear of pain: The available literature suggests that interoceptive - i.e., internal bodily - sensations may become predictors of pain and will subsequently elicit fear of pain. After a short overview of interoceptive (fear) conditioning and its role in the maintenance of panic disorder, the existing literature on conditioning in the field of pain and fear of pain is reviewed. Next, the authors propose an interoceptive fear conditioning model of fear of pain, suggesting that bodily sensations can function as predictors of pain and as conditioned stimuli become endowed with the capacity to elicit an (anticipatory) fear response. The review concludes with a number of theoretical and clinical considerations, introducing interoceptive exposure as a potentially effective treatment for fear of pain.
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Multicenter Study
The association between psychological factors and the development of complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS1)--a prospective multicenter study.
The objective of this study was to investigate the association between psychological factors and complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS1). A prospective multicenter cohort study was performed involving the emergency room of three hospitals, and patients age 18years or older, with a single fracture, were included in the study. At baseline (T0), participants completed a questionnaire covering demographic, psychological (Symptom Checklist-90), and medical variables. ⋯ None of the psychological factors predicted the development of CRPS1. The scores on the Symptom Checklist-90 subscales fell into the range of the general population and were, in most cases, average or below average when compared with those of pain patients or psychiatric patients. No empirical evidence supports a diagnosis of CRPS1 patients as psychologically different, and the current results indicate that there is no association between psychological factors and CRPS1.
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(1) To compare caregivers attitudes on the use of end-of-life opioid analgesia in neonatal (NICU) and pediatric (PICU) intensive care units. (2) To investigate actual opioid administration to DR (delivery room), NICU and PICU patients in various end-of-life situations. ⋯ End-of-life opioid administration to primary comfort care patients in the DR differs fundamentally from NICU or PICU handling of dying patients. Once patients are admitted to an intensive care unit, practice and attitudes towards end-of-life opioid administration are similar in NICUs and PICUs.
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We investigated the potential of secretory phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2))-induced pancreatitis to promote abdominal hyperalgesia, as well as to depolarize sensory fibres in vitro using a grease-gap technique. Pancreatitis was induced by the injection of sPLA(2) from Crotalus durissus terrificus (sPLA(2)Cdt, 300μgkg(-1)) venom into the common bile duct of rats. Pancreatic inflammatory signs, serum amylase levels and abdominal hyperalgesia were evaluated in rats treated or not with SR140333, a tachykinin NK(1) receptor antagonist. ⋯ Neither sPLA(2)Cdt nor sPLA(2) from Naja mocambique mocambique venom depolarized capsaicin-sensitive sensory fibres from rat vagus nerve, but they decreased the propagated compound action potentials in both A and C fibres. These data show for the first time that NK(1) receptors play an important role in the early abdominal hyperalgesia in a rat model of sPLA(2)-induced pancreatitis, suggesting that these receptors are of importance in the development of pain in the pancreatitis condition. We also provide evidence that sPLA(2)s do not directly depolarize sensory fibres in vitro.