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NINDS is part of the
National Institutes of
Health
Neurobiology of Craniofacial/Deep Tissue Persistent Pain
Symposium Funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
And
Office of Rare Diseases
NIH
Sponsored by the American Pain Society
March 13-14, 2002
Symposium Summary
A symposium was held March 13-14, 2002 to assess the current status of neuroscience research on deep tissue persistent pain in order to identify new research avenues for craniofacial disorders, such as temporal mandibular disorders (TMD), migraine headache, and trigeminal neuralgia (TN). These are highly prevalent, disabling, and/or chronic conditions, especially among women. Because their pathophysiology is poorly understood, research on management and treatment has lagged behind that for other pain conditions. The symposium was held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the American Pain Society.
A constellation of cutting-edge research at the molecular, cellular, and systems level was described in experimental models and in humans of deep tissue persistent pain. Speakers relayed their findings on muscle and joint pain, visceral and cardiovascular pain, inflammation and cytokines, molecular and cell biology, gender, and neuroimaging. A major theme of the symposium was that models of visceral and deep tissue pain are more relevant for understanding craniofacial pain than are models of cutaneous pain.
Among the highlights of the symposium were new findings about experimental models of musculoskeletal pain in the absence of tissue damage; the role of NGF and pro-inflammatory cytokines in persistent pain states; the great degree of variability in response to nociceptive stimulation depending on sex, initiating stimuli (e.g., location, nature, intensity), time during development, and co-morbid pain syndromes; and, lastly, the contributions of multiple cortical areas in human pain processing and regulation through neuroimaging.
These new avenues of research for craniofacial/deep tissue persistent pain were suggested at the symposium:
Last updated February 09, 2005