Advances in pain relief

Pain, unfortunately, is a horrible necessity of life. It protects people by alerting them to things that might injure them. But some long-term pain has nothing to do with any obvious injury. One estimate suggests that one in six adults suffer from a “chronic pain” condition.

Steve McMahon, a pain researcher at King’s College, London, says that if skin is damaged — for instance with a hot iron — an area of sensitivity develops around the outside of the burn, where although untouched and undamaged by the iron, the behaviour of the nerve fibres is disrupted. As a result, heightened sensitivity and abnormal pain sensations occur in the surrounding skin. Chronic pain, he says, may similarly be caused not by damage to the body, but because weak pain signals become amplified.

This would also help explain why chronic pains such as lower-back pain and osteoarthritis fail to respond well to traditional pain therapies.

But now an entirely new kind of drug, called Tanezumab, has been developed. It is an antibody for a protein called nerve growth factor (NGF), which is vital for new nerve growth during development. NGF, it turns out, is also crucial in the regulation of the sensitisation of pain in chronic conditions.

Kenneth Verburg, one of the researchers involved in the development of Tanezumab at Pfizer, says it is not exactly clear what role NGF plays in normal physiology, but after an injury which involves tissue damage and inflammation, levels of NGF increase dramatically. The NGF seems to be involved in transmitting the pain signal. As a consequence, blocking NGF reduces chronic pain.

Tanezumab must still complete the final stages of clinical trials before it can become a weapon in the toolkit for reducing human suffering.

But unexpected pains do not always come from the body.

According to Irene Tracey, a pain researcher at the University of Oxford, how pain is experienced also depends upon a person’s state of mind. If successive patients suffer the same burn, the extent to which it hurts will depend on whether one is anxious, depressed, happy or distracted.

Such ideas are being explored with brain scans which suggest that even if a low level of pain is being sent to the brain, the signal can be turned up by the “mind” itself. Indeed, patients can even be tricked into feeling pain.

In one experiment volunteers were given a powerful analgesic and subjected to a painful stimulus — which, because of the analgesic, they could not feel. Then they were told the drug had worn off (although it had not), and subsequently complained that the stimulus hurt.

People can, therefore, feel pain simply because it is expected. They can fail to feel pain for exactly the same reasons, for example when they are given placebos or are distracted. But although pain may be subjective, that does not mean the final experience is controlled solely by the mind.

A recent paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has shown that genes play a role in determining sensitivity to pain.

One gene, known as SCN9A, codes for a protein that allows the channels along which nerve signals are transmitted, to remain active for longer, and thus transmit more pain signals. It seems likely that this protein will attract a great deal more analgesic research. Variations in SCN9A may also explain why some patients prefer different classes of painkillers.

Although pain may be a horrible necessity, there is no doubt that humanity could cope with far less of the chronic sort. Understanding how the mind, the body and people’s genes interact to cause pain should bring more relief.

Childhood Behavioral Problems Linked To Chronic Pain In Adulthood

It is well-known that there is an association between childhood behavioral problems and psychological problems later in life such as depression, anxiety, panic disorder and the like. However, until recently, there has not been a clear link between childhood behavioral problems and chronic pain in adulthood.

In a recent study, British researchers analyzed data gathered from following over 20,000 children beginning in 1958. This group, or cohort, was periodically assessed at different times over the course of over 40 years (at the ages of 7, 11, 16, 42, and 45 years). Behavioral data was gathered by using standardized measures and questionnaires; specific behaviors such as restlessness, stealing, obedience, lying, and bullying (among others) were looked at.

The study revealed that there indeed seems to be a link between severe behavioral disturbances in childhood and chronic pain in adulthood. For instance, the risk of having chronic pain at age 45 doubled for those individuals whose teachers had reported severe "persistent" behavior problems at ages 7, 11, and 16 years.

The mechanism for this association is believed to possibly be something called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Basically the HPA axis is a signaling system between brain structures (hypothalamus and pituitary) and the body (adrenal gland).

The HPA axis is intimately tied in with both emotions and stress on the one hand, and physiological responses on the other. In other words, it is a major "bridge" between the mind and the body, and as such is a good preliminary candidate for the link between childhood behavioral patterns and chronic pain later in life.

It is possible that in children with severe behavioral problems, HPA axis function becomes disturbed early-on, leading to persistent physical problems later in life. It is important to note that this is a very preliminary conclusion; there may be much more going on here, and further research is certainly needed..

Source : http://blog.seattlepi.com/bodyandmind/archives/198276.asp

Why do some pain do not disappear with time and treatment?

One hypothesis advanced is that initially we did not deal fairly combative when the pain is acute. Over time, the pain would cause chemical changes in the neural circuits of the brain and spinal cord. Thus, the nervous system "mimerait 'pain, even if the initial injury has healed. This is why some doctors and researchers believe that chronic pain is a disease in itself.

Other hypotheses, psychological suffering (experiences of abandonment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, etc..) Could also be expressed in the form of pain. In fact, according to the definition of the International Association for the Study of Pain, pain is an experience not only physical but also emotional.

Who suffers from Chronic Pain?

• The prevalence of chronic pain increases with age. 
• In Canada, 29% of adults aged 35 to 54 years suffer from chronic pain, and 39% of those aged 55 and over 1. According to a compilation of data from several countries (Canada, France, Australia, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Scotland, Netherlands), chronic pain affect on average 36% of adults 2. 
• An increase of 70% of chronic pain is expected within 25 years because of aging of the population 3. Also, surgeries that we practice more and more, often leave patients with persistent pain. The removal of the breast and knee arthroscopy are good examples of common operations that often leave scars 4. 
• Women are more prone to chronic pain 5. We know that testosterone protects men from the pain. However, the relationship between estrogen and the pain is not yet clear. Many women see their pain increased during the days preceding menstruation and after menopause, periods characterized by lower estrogen.
  

What is Chronic Pain

Currently, chronic pain is not recognized as a disease in itself, by any medical authority. One of several Body Pain, Chronic Pain is also a severe form of Pain. In the health community, there are two schools of thought. The first, more traditional, argues that this is only a symptom, such as acute pain. The second considers the chronic pain as a disease because of the neurochemical changes that occur in people with chronic pain.

We can compare the chronic pain in an alarm bell that no longer able to extinguish. Thus, the pain persists ... for nothing.

This disorder is growing. In fact, family physicians are increasingly arriving in their offices for patients afflicted with chronic pain. If the causes are sometimes recognizable, other times they are inexplicable. The health professionals are confronted with their own powerlessness.

Consider increasing chronic pain as a disease of the nervous system, one among main body pains But not all agree on its definition. But what is a chronic pain? In short, it is a pain that lasts longer than six months. This pain can be constant or intermittent, such as migraines. It may be linked to chronic diseases such as Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis. These two diseases are also major causes of chronic pain.

Where is the harm? The back is the part of the body most often affected by chronic pain. Then there are the legs, head, neck, knees and abdomen. It can be caused by injury to nerves, to muscles, joints or body.

Chronic Pain : When it hurts all the time ...

• It begins with an evil that we believe temporary. But now he settles permanently. Chronic Pain is a form of Body Pain.
  
• Chronic pain is a disorder that affects more and more individuals are often left to themselves. Sometimes without apparent cause, such persistent pain faced by health professionals at their own impotence. The drugs are ineffective: they relieve only 10% to 20% of the pain. 
• Hence the importance of clinical pain, attached to hospitals, which offer a wide range of services ranging from psychology to physiotherapy. Because we can not be limited to physical harm ... 
• These severe pain poison all aspects of the lives of people who are victims, as can be seen from their testimony. They can break couples and friendships, ruin careers in addition to generating great mental distress.
  

Lower Back Pain - Another Body Pain

Lower Back Pain, which means pain in the lower back is very common. Indeed, over 90% of people suffer at one time or another of a sore back, and this most often spent their twenties, with the adoption of sedentary lifestyles.

In the vast majority of people, pain is the lumbar. This region of the back, constantly sought, supports a significant proportion of body weight.

Back pain a type of body pain, is a complex problem that often conventional medicine alone can not alleviate. In many cases, especially if the pain is chronic, a holistic approach that takes into account both the psychological and emotional and physical need. We can thus achieve reduced pain, or at least learn how to live with it.

The lumbar spine

The lumbar spine consists of five vertebrae, small cylindrical bones and empty bunk in their center (see diagram above). The spinal cord passes into the cavity. The marrow consists of a bundle of nerve fibers motor, sensory and associative. The space between the vertebrae is cushioned by a disk of soft tissue that contains a gel which serves to allow the mobility of the vertebrae, while preventing them from rubbing against each other. The whole is surrounded by muscles, tendons and ligaments whose role is to ensure stability and mobility of the delicate joints of the spine.

Back Pain (Lower Back Pain)

A type of Body Pain is Back Pain. Generally people suffer form Lower Back Pain. Pain in the lower portion of Back or say low back pain is a common concern now a days, affecting more than 80% of world population a some point in their lifetime. And above 50% of population have more than one episode of back pain. Low back pain is a symptom not a specific disease which is caused from variety of different processes. Despite a thorough medical examination, no specific cause is identified in more than 80% of people suffering from low back pain.

- After Common Cold, Low back pain is another cause of lost days at work. Back Pain, Lower Back Ache now became one of the most common reasons to visit a doctor.

- For 90% of people, even those with nerve root irritation, their symptoms will improve within 2 months, no matter what treatment is used-even if no treatment is given.

- Doctors usually refer to back pain as acute if it has been present for less than a month and chronic if it lasts for a longer period of time.

Understanding pain

Complex phenomenon, pain is a warning signal telling the brain that something unusual was happening inside our body. But behind these reflex responses are hidden mechanisms have been identified.

ABC pain
Warning signal that tells our brain that something unusual is happening and it must address. But when the pain becomes too intense or chronic pain can affect quality of life. Also, the doctors they are trying more and more of the fight.

The pain in figures
Symptom-pain, pain-signal-rebel pain, pain, disease, chronic-pain ... the pain is everybody's business. What are the main causes of pain? How the World see it? Is it well supported? ..

 The path of Body Pain
What causes pain? What are the mechanisms in action? Explore more detail the path of the pain and its consequences. Zoom in on the circuit the pain almost instantly.


When depression hurts
Dark thoughts, sadness, fatigue ... signs of depression are known. However, there are warnings that are less known: Body Pain. Headaches, Back Problems, Intestinal Problems ... These appeals body may reflect a deeper malaise.

Sponsored by : DesiDieter.Com