pain

BackgroundThe thalamus is one of the structures that receives projections from multiple ascending pain pathways. Although the transmission of orofacial and somatic pain involves different nuclear clusters and nerve pathways, the thalamic neuroimmune alterations across these different pain modalities remain poorly understood. This work aimed to investigate alterations in the neuroimmune mechanisms…

Cannabis-based therapies are widely used for chronic pain, yet their mechanisms and therapeutic windows remain incompletely defined. This review synthesizes preclinical and clinical evidence on how dose, route of administration, treatment duration, and chemical composition shape analgesic efficacy and adverse-effect liability for Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and select cannab…

Published on July 30, 2026 3:21 PM GMT Humans are capable of experiencing very intense agony. But how widespread is this capacity in the animal kingdom? How many animals can experience intense pain? In this essay, I will argue, from both theoretical and experimental considerations, that capacity for feeling intense agony might be quite widespread. It may be that even the simplest creatures capabl…

Interest in the vagus nerve has recently surged, particularly with the advent of non-invasive transcutaneous VNS (tVNS), which has broadened access and facilitated research across a range of conditions including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), migraine, chronic pain, and inflammatory disorders. tVNS primarily utilizes two pathways: the auricular branch (taVNS) and the cervical …

Nature Communications, Published online: 14 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-75423-9 The authors find that netrin-1 secreted by endplate osteoclasts induces a cascade of netrin1/DCC downstream signaling in the dorsal horn synapses to generate nociplasticity for chronic low back pain in male mice.

Barcelona, Spain: Acupuncture to the ear may help to lessen pain from migraines and their impact on daily life, according to new research presented today (Friday) at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2026 [1].   A randomised clinical trial of the treatment, called auriculotherapy, found that migraines were less painful immediately after the treatment and 30 days later…

A large review of clinical trials published this week in the journal PAIN suggests that melatonin may offer meaningful relief for patients suffering from chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia. The post Common Sleep Supplement May Also Ease Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain, Study Suggests appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News .

Neuropathic pain is difficult to treat due to the involvement of multiple signaling pathways, including increased expression of sodium channels, decreased expression of potassium channels, heightened neuronal excitability from the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), nerve damage leading to changes in neurotrophic factor levels, and reduced opioid efficacy. As a result, the trea…

Pain is a complex sensory and affective experience regulated by distributed neural circuits that integrate internal physiological states with external stimuli. Orexinergic neurons, a widely projecting neuronal population within the lateral hypothalamus (LH), play a central role in this process. This review synthesizes current evidence on the involvement of LH orexinergic neurons in nociceptive re…

BackgroundThoracolumbar compression fractures frequently coexist with depression, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of pain and psychological distress. Conventional nursing care offers limited psychological support for this comorbid population.MethodsThis quasi-experimental, descriptive study with a non-concurrent historical control enrolled 60 patients with comorbid depression and thoracolumbar …

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.

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…