pain

A small point on the ear could hold big answers for cancer patients in pain. With a new pilot grant, researcher Hongyu Wang, MD, PhD, is digging into the biology behind auricular point acupressure to better understand how it eases the debilitating effects of chemotherapy.

Over half of the people carrying HIV experience chronic pain at some point, which is difficult to treat. In a new JNeurosci paper, Hui-Lin Pan, from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues used mice to explore how HIV leads to chronic pain.

ObjectiveThe comorbidity of pain and depression is prevalent, adding difficulty to the treatment of depression. This systematic review with meta-analysis aims to determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treating depression-associated chronic pain (DACP).MethodsA comprehensive search was conducted across four international databases, namely PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochra…

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is the first in the world to eliminate months of pain after surgical repair for microtia – a rare condition where a child is born with underdeveloped or missing outer ear.

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's have identified a potential new way to relieve chronic pain linked to neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic condition best known for causing tumors to grow along nerves.

This randomized controlled trial focused on in-person prayer, known as proximal intercessory prayer (PIP), for another person's well-being.

Low levels of vitamin D may make recovery from breast cancer surgery more painful and increase the need for opioid medications, according to research published online in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. Researchers say patients with vitamin D deficiency (below 30 nmol/L) could potentially benefit from taking supplements before undergoing a radical mastectomy. [...]

Chronic pain has often been studied as a fixed endpoint, leaving the metabolic process of chronification unresolved. We reveal a nonlinear, biphasic astrocytic program in the ACC that gates Warburg-like reprogramming and selectively controls persistent, but not acute, pain.

BackgroundChronic pain (CP) is a public health challenge recognized as involving large-scale functional brain dysregulation. Acupuncture is widely used as a non-pharmacological intervention for CP, yet its central mechanisms remain incompletely understood. fMRI provides an approach for investigating acupuncture-related brain alterations in CP.MethodsEight databases were searched from inception to…

BackgroundThe renin–angiotensin system (RAS) contributes to inflammatory and neuropathic pain, but whether its primary receptors, AT1R and AT2R, regulate the K2P channel TWIK1 in sensory neurons remains unknown. We investigated whether Ang-II receptors modulate TWIK1 expression and whether this pathway influences neuropathic pain.MethodsAdult female rats underwent chronic constriction injury (CCI…

Low vitamin D levels could be quietly making breast cancer surgery recovery far more painful. In a new study, patients deficient in vitamin D were three times more likely to experience moderate to severe pain after mastectomy surgery and ended up using significantly more opioid medication to cope. Researchers say vitamin D may help regulate how the body processes pain through its effects on infla…

Older adults in Colorado were drawn to edible cannabis mainly to manage sleep problems, pain, anxiety, or depression, often after concerns about conventional medicines or limited relief from other treatments. Most participants preferred THC-CBD combination products, but they remained uncertain about dosing, impairment, effectiveness, and how to choose the right cannabinoid ratio.

Objective: The purpose of this randomized clinical trial is to investigate the effects of preemptive analgesia on postoperative pain following extraction and ridge preservation and to evaluate the association between dental care-related fear and anxiety, health literacy, fear of pain, and pain catastrophizing with post-operative pain and swelling perception as well as Oral Health Impact Profile-1…

Musculoskeletal pain can begin or extend into the time period following childbirth, making it important to find a solution.

IntroductionCyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) plays a critical role in pain transmission by phosphorylating key nociceptive proteins. One of its recently identified substrates, the P2X2 subunit, is part of the P2X2/3 purinergic receptor (P2X2/3R), which is implicated in nociceptive signaling. However, the specific contribution of Cdk5 to purinergic receptor-mediated pain responses remains unclear.…

ObjectiveThis study aimed to observe the clinical efficacy of multi-target high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with acupuncture for chronic central post-stroke pain (CPSP) and emotional comorbidities during the recovery phase.MethodsThirty patients with CPSP admitted to the Rehabilitation Department of Hubei Third People’s Hospital from June 2024 to June 20…

BackgroundChronic pain following nerve injury (neuropathic pain), is notoriously difficult to treat, with current analgesics showing limited efficacy and adverse or dangerous side effects. One new candidate analgesic target is the TRPM8 ion channel, identified as the peripheral detector for innocuous cool sensation and reported to attenuate spinal cord pain processing by processes involving inhib…

Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains what we do — and still don't — know about pain When neurosurgeon and journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta set out to write a book about pain, it wasn't because he felt like he had all the answers. It was because he was still so often mystified by it. Life Kit Dr. Sanjay Gupta wants to reframe your understanding of pain "Most of my patients come to me for pain. Head pain, back pai…

Chronic nerve pain is one of the most difficult health problems to treat. It affects millions of people around the world and can last for months or even years. This type of pain, also known as neuropathic pain, happens when nerves outside the brain and spinal cord are damaged. People often describe it as burning, […] The post New pain drug may relieve nerve pain without addiction risk, study find…

Back pain is a problem that many people experience at some point in their lives. For some, the pain goes away after a short time. But for others, it becomes a long-lasting condition that affects daily activities and overall quality of life. Chronic low back pain is especially difficult because it often has no clear […] The post How a bone hormone could help stop long-term back pain appeared first…