Journal of pain research
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
Temporal analysis of pain responders and common adverse events: when do these first appear following treatment with pregabalin.
Pregabalin is an α2δ ligand indicated in the USA for treatment of a number of chronic pain conditions, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, pain associated with spinal cord injury, and fibromyalgia. A greater understanding of when patients first respond to treatment with pregabalin and when adverse events emerge, or worsen, could aid design of new proof-of-concept studies and help guide treatment of patients. ⋯ These data suggest that the majority of pain responders and common adverse events emerge within 3-4 weeks of treatment with pregabalin. These data could advise new proof-of-concept studies and guide clinical management.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
Regional anesthesia for an upper extremity amputation for palliative care in a patient with end-stage osteosarcoma complicated by a large anterior mediastinal mass.
Tumor progression during end-of-life care can lead to significant pain, which at times may be refractory to routine analgesic techniques. Although regional anesthesia is commonly used for postoperative pain care, there is limited experience with its use during home hospice care. We present a 24-year-old male with end-stage metastatic osteosarcoma who required anesthetic care for a right-sided above-the-elbow amputation. ⋯ Intraoperative anesthesia and postoperative pain management were provided by regional anesthesia using an interscalene catheter. He was discharged home with the interscalene catheter in place with a continuous local anesthetic infusion that allowed weaning of his chronic opioid medications and the provision of effective pain control. The perioperative applications of regional anesthesia in palliative and home hospice care are discussed.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
Multivariate proteomic analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with peripheral neuropathic pain and healthy controls - a hypothesis-generating pilot study.
Pain medicine lacks objective biomarkers to guide diagnosis and treatment. Combining two-dimensional gel proteomics with multivariate data analysis by projection, we exploratively analyzed the cerebrospinal fluid of eleven patients with severe peripheral neuropathic pain due to trauma and/or surgery refractory to conventional treatment and eleven healthy controls. Using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, we identified a panel of 36 proteins highly discriminating between the two groups. ⋯ It has recently been hypothesized that the renin-angiotensin system may play a role in the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain, and a clinical trial of an angiotensin II receptor antagonist was recently published. It is noteworthy that when searching for neuropathic pain biomarkers with a purely explorative methodology, it was indeed a renin-angiotensin system protein that had the highest discriminatory power between patients and controls in the present study. The results from this hypothesis-generating pilot study have to be confirmed in larger, hypothesis-driven studies with age-matched controls, but the present study illustrates the fruitfulness of combining proteomics with multivariate data analysis in hypothesis-generating pain biomarker studies in humans.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
ReviewBuprenorphine - an attractive opioid with underutilized potential in treatment of chronic pain.
Despite proven clinical utility, buprenorphine has not been used widely for the treatment of chronic pain. Questions about "ceiling effect" or bell-shaped curve observed for analgesia in preclinical studies and potential withdrawal issues on combining with marketed μ-agonists continue to hinder progress in expanding full potential of buprenorphine in the treatment of cancer and noncancer pain. Mounting evidence from clinical studies and conclusions drawn by a panel of experts strongly support superior safety and efficacy profile of buprenorphine vs marketed opioids. ⋯ The receptor pharmacology and pharmacokinetics profile of buprenorphine is complex but unique and contributes to its distinct safety and efficacy. The buprenorphine pharmacology also allows it to be combined with other μ-receptor opioids for additivity in efficacy. Transdermal delivery products of buprenorphine have been preferred choices for the management of pain but new delivery options are under investigation for the treatment of both opioid dependence and chronic pain.
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Obesity and pain present serious public health concerns in our society. Evidence strongly suggests that comorbid obesity is common in chronic pain conditions, and pain complaints are common in obese individuals. In this paper, we review the association between obesity and pain in the general population as well as chronic pain patients. ⋯ The literature suggests that the two conditions are significant comorbidities, adversely impacting each other. The nature of the relationship however is not likely to be direct, but many interacting factors appear to contribute. Weight loss for obese pain patients appears to be an important aspect of overall pain rehabilitation, although more efforts are needed to determine strategies to maintain long-term benefit.