Pain

A study in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders suggests that multinucleated giant cells (MGC) may contribute to osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in addition to their known association with synovitis severity. The finding adds to other recent research and points to the therapeutic potential of targeting MGCs to improve pain and joint damage in both types of arthritis.

Certolizumab pegol (CZP) + methotrexate (MTX) is safe and effective for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with disease activity despite methotrexate therapy, according to a five-year follow-up study published in Arthritis Research & Therapy. The finding is an extension of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Prevention of Structural Damage (RAPID 2) randomized, controlled trial. It is important because patients with RA are likely to undergo treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) medications over several years.

A study in PLOS One found evidence that fat metaplasia in sacroiliac joints (SIJ) is significantly associated with spinal progression for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

California's "End of Life Option Act" faces stiff opposition from the American College of Physicians. The bill will become state law unless California's Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes it.

Gout has been making quite a stir in news recently. Between a new classification system and a study showing that a common food can cause painful flares, this form of arthritis is getting quite a bit of attention. Now comes word that a drug used to treat gout could also be effective for another damaging condition.

A Canadian company announced it would invest $100 million (US dollars) in Jamaican marijuana research and development. A Colorado company also plans to invest there. Though marijuana has long been grown in Jamaica and exported illegally, the island's government decriminalized medical use in February.

When it comes to lumbar spinal stenosis, the ultimate goal is to provide both pain relief and improved physical function. But a new study found that if patients could only choose one, they would go with pain relief.

A new evidence-based classification system for gout has been shown to outperform the current gold standard, which could lead to an updated protocol.

While everyone should keep their cholesterol levels under control, those who suffer from migraine headaches may want to pay extra attention to their diet and exercise routine.

Treatment advances in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), including the development and widespread deployment of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biologic therapies, mean that patients now often have significant periods of low disease activity. But a study in Arthritis Research & Therapy indicates that even patients reaching sustained remission report some potential neuropathic pain even when inflammation is well-controlled.

Women suffering from primary dysmenorrhea – painful menstruation in the absence of any sort of pelvic pathology – are unlikely to think much of it, chalking it up to a normal part of the menstrual cycle. A review in Human Reproduction Update, however, suggests that health professionals and pain researchers also generally ignore the condition.

An analysis in Canadian Family Physician casts further doubt on the ability of marijuana to provide pain relief for patients with chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). Yet, in an accompanying editorial in the same issue, Roger Ladouceur, MD, Associate Scientific Editor of CFP, suggests that pain management specialists continue to prescribe it.

A series of physician guidelines for headache care recently published in Canadian Family Physician was aimed at family physicians but has applicability for physical and occupational therapists, nurses and practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and psychologists, among others. The brevity of the guidelines is among its strengths, along with the breadth of issues for which care guidelines are listed.

Studies show that certain factors, including age, gender, and, importantly, location of treatment may contribute to the increased incidence of migraines.

An alarming new study determined that one in two adolescent patients are misusing their prescription opioids – and that's actually an improvement from previous years.

Pain is pain, regardless of the race, gender, or ethnicity of the person experiencing it. But pain treatment may not be so blind. Some studies in adult patients have shown that ethnicity and race might be associated with disparities in analgesia and opioid treatment in Emergency Department (ED) patients with limb fractures. Fortunately, a study in The Annals of Emergency Medicine suggests that ethnic differences did not make a difference in pain treatment in a pediatric ED in northern Israel.

Like every year, PAINWeek, which kicks off this week in Las Vegas, will include dozens of presentations on abuse and diversion. It is a topic that is always front and center for pain management practitioners, and one for which there are no easy answers.

Cardiovascular patients are the focus of the recent drug approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Branded under the name Durlaza, the 24-hour extended-release aspirin is the first of its kind and is expected to become available before the end of the year.

The source of neuropathic pain is a biological process called endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, according to findings published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Patients with moderate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) taking disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have a similar risk of joint fracture that requires surgery as RA patients with high disease activity.

Every day 46 people in the United States die from a prescription painkiller overdose. As part of its effort to combat this startling epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will soon launch a comprehensive prevention program.

The first study of its kind examined joint replacement surgery in patients with osteoarthritis and confirmed an increased risk of cardiovascular complications.

Lidocaine metabolite N-ethylglycine (EG) relieves hyperalgesia and allodynia in animal models for chronic pain, suggests a study in Pain. The finding is an indicator that use of Glycine transporter 1 substrates might constitute a new drug target for the modulation of glycinergic inhibition in pain signaling.

Canada-based researchers examined the effectiveness of opioids for the long-term management of chronic neuropathic pain and found less than encouraging results, according to a study in The Journal of Pain.

A recent study in the Journal of Pain Research found that placing an electrical stimulation device properly doesn't necessarily increase the pain threshold for health patients subjected to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). The finding is important because TENS is among many nonpharmacological interventions for pain around which clinical opinion on effectiveness is split.

Research has established that various parts of the trigeminal system are responsible for peripheral symptoms of migraine. Treatment with corticosteroids reduces the symptoms of migraine, but the treatment is associated with long-term side effects.

Early diagnosis continues to be one of the biggest challenges associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, researchers have identified a genetic marker that can predict tissue damage severity that could lead to better treatments.

Stress resulting from frequent migraine headaches may contribute to the development of medical and psychological comorbidities that can result in an ugly cycle of more migraines, according to a study in the Journal of Pain Research.

A Japanese study suggests that parental bonding style during childhood is associated with the prevalence of chronic pain in adults in the general population and that the association is more robust for paternal bonding than for maternal bonding.

Three recent studies – in three very different publications – add to a growing cache of evidence showing that music can have significant benefits for patients with pain.