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2008 News Releases
- NIDA-supported Basic Science Discoveries Yield Novel Approaches to Analgesia
- Multidisciplinary Approach to Chronic Pelvic Pain(MAPP) Research Network
- Strategic Plan for Research into Benign Prostate Disease
- Defining the Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndromes: A New Beginning--An International Symposium
- NIH Roadmap Funding Opportunity for Pain Research
- NIDCR's TMJD Awareness Effort
NIDCR launched an initiative in spring 2008 to raise awareness about temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders and the availability of the Institute's patient education booklet on this topic, TMJ Disorders. The overall goal of this awareness effort is to help people with TMJ problems make prudent decisions about their care. The message "Less is Often Best in Treating TMJ" targets women ages 25-44, the group most commonly affected by this condition, and cautions against unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments. Media kits and email blasts sent to editors of national women's and health magazines highlight the issues addressed in the TMJ Disorders booklet and include "Less is Often Best" ready-for-print ads featuring women in the TMJD demographic.
National Institute of Dental and Cranioficial Research (NIDCR)
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New Resources on Urologic and Kidney Disorders
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published several new resources to help people learn more about urologic and kidney disorders. These disorders are among the most critical health problems in the United States, affecting millions of Americans, including children and young adults. The publications address interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS), urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children, prostatitis, IgA nephropathy, and home hemodialysis.
The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC)
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NIDDK Announces Awards to Advance Research of Chronic Pelvic Pain
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces awards to eight academic research centers to conduct collaborative studies of urologic chronic pelvic pain disorders by looking for clues outside the bladder and prostate. The total research investment for the five-year project is estimated to be up to $37.5 million.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
- NIAMS Discusses chronic musculoskeletal pain
The session’s goal was to determine how the NIAMS can more effectively study and contribute toward personalized treatment options for patients who suffer from chronic musculoskeletal pain. The session was expected to position the NIAMS to capitalize on and contribute to what is known about how to prevent, identify, and manage chronic pain.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
- Study Suggests Improved Treatments for Neuropathic Pain
Two chemicals associated with neurodegeneration and inflammation play important and distinct roles in development of neuropathic pain, a new study shows. The findings may lead to new treatments that can stop neuropathic pain from developing and alleviate it after it begins.
National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS)
- CAM and Fibromyalgia: At a Glance
People with chronic health conditions such as fibromyalgia often turn to some form of CAM. This article provides basic information on fibromyalgia and "what the science says" about the effectiveness of CAM practices that many people with fibromyalgia use. If you are considering a CAM therapy for fibromyalgia, this information can help you talk to your health care provider about it.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
- Sex and Gender Research: Pain (ORWH Women's Health Seminar Series)
The NIH Office of Research on Women's Health Seminar Series will present an afternoon of discussion with national experts about sex and gender research in pain. The seminar presents an opportunity to hear from Specialized Centers of Research on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women's Health (SCOR) investigators about their research. Frank Hamilton, M.D. Ph.D., Senior Advisor in Gastroenterology and Chief Digestive Diseases Program, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases will present the opening remarks.
NIH Office of the Director (OD)
- Mechanisms and Management of Pain in the Elderly
National Institute on Aging (NIA), in collaboration with the NIH Pain Consortium and co-sponsored by National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), is holding an exploratory workshop on "Mechanisms and Management of Pain in the Elderly" at the Doubletree Bethesda Hotel in Maryland on June 30 and July 1, 2008. The goal of the workshop is to identify research knowledge gaps, barriers and opportunities for aging and translational research in mechanisms, assessment and management of pain.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- March 3 Lecture: Pain-Specific Blockade—Targeting Analgesics Only to Where it Hurts
Dr. Clifford J. Woolf will speak on "Pain-Specific Blockade -- Targeting Analgesics Only to Where it Hurts," on Monday, March 3 at 2:00 p.m. in the Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. 10, on the NIH campus. His talk will focus on a novel strategy, recently developed by his laboratory that allows highly selective blockage of electrical signaling in pain-sensing neurons without affecting signaling by other types of neurons. Unlike conventional anesthesia, this new strategy allows a pain-specific anesthesia or analgesia without producing paralysis or general numbness. Dr. Woolf and his colleagues describe their findings in the October 4, 2007 issue of Nature.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
2007 News Releases
NIH Launches Campaign to Raise Awareness of Vulvodynia, a Painful Disorder Affecting Many Women
The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at the National Institute's of Health (NIH), in partnership with other federal and non-federal partners, announced the launch of the "Vulvodynia Awareness Campaign" on October 24, 2007.
Vulvodynia, also referred to as "the pain down there" or "feminine pain," is chronic discomfort or pain of the vulva, which is the area around the outside of the vagina. It is a persistent condition for which there is no apparent cause and no single effective treatment. Vulvodynia can have stressful effects on every day life and relationships. A lack of sufficient consumer and health care provider information may contribute to a delayed diagnosis and the ultimate long-term suffering of vulvodynia patients.
NIH Office of the Director (OD)
Treatment Blocks Pain Without Disrupting Other Functions
A combination of two drugs can selectively block pain-sensing neurons in rats without impairing movement or other sensations such as touch, according to a new study by National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported investigators. The finding suggests an improved way to treat pain from childbirth and surgical procedures. It may also lead to new treatments to help the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic pain.
National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS)
Researchers Identify Genes That Increase Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk
Researchers in the United States and Sweden have identified a genetic region associated with increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic and debilitating inflammatory disease of the joints that affects an estimated 2.1 million Americans. The U.S. arm of the study involved a long-time collaboration between intramural researchers of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and other organizations. NIAMS is one of 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health. The results appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Study Explores miRNAs in Inflammatory Muscle Pain
In the June issue of the journal Molecular Pain, a team of NIDCR supported scientists and colleagues report for the first time that certain microRNAs are selectively expressed in neurons within the peripheral nervous system after inducing inflammatory muscle pain. “Most importantly,” the scientists noted, “we observed that several miRNA molecules, likely in the mature form, are regulated by an inflammatory irritant and their changes are correlated with the development of allodynia,” an over-reaction to non noxious stimuli. This suggests that as allodynia occurs and microRNAs are downregulated, more messenger RNA in the peripheral neurons can be translated into proteins that take part in the inflammatory process.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Gabapentin Shown Effective for Fibromyalgia Pain
New research supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) shows that the anticonvulsant medication gabapentin, which is used for certain types of seizures, can be an effective treatment for the pain and other symptoms associated with the common, often hard-to-treat chronic pain disorder, fibromyalgia.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Integrative Medicine Consult Service Established at the NIH Clinical Center
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has established an Integrative Medicine Consult Service at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center, the world's largest hospital devoted to research. This service will provide physicians, nurses, and other members of the Clinical Center health care team the ability to discuss complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies with knowledgeable medical staff from the consult service and learn how various CAM practices might complement or interact with a patient's care as a research participant at the Clinical Center.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Could Baby Boomers Be Approaching Retirement in Worse Shape Than Their Predecessors?
Americans in their early to mid-50s today report poorer health, more pain and more trouble doing everyday physical tasks than their older peers reported at the same age in years past, a recent analysis has shown. The research, published in print and online this week by the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), was supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health.
National Institute on Aging (NIA) NIDA Launches First Large-Scale National Study to Treat Addiction to Prescription Pain Medications
Researchers funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, are launching the first large-scale national study evaluating a treatment for addiction to prescription opioid analgesics (i.e., painkillers) such as Vicodin and OxyContin. NIDA's National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) is conducting the multi-site study, known as the Prescription Opiate Addiction Treatment Study (POATS).
National Institute on Drug Abuse
2006 News Releases
Gene Variation Affects Pain Sensitivity and Risk of Chronic Pain
A new NIH-funded study shows that a specific gene variant in humans affects both sensitivity to short-term (acute) pain in healthy volunteers and the risk of developing chronic pain after one kind of back surgery. Blocking increased activity of this gene after nerve injury or inflammation in animals prevented development of chronic pain.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Osteoarthritis Initiative Releases First Data
The Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), a public-private partnership between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and private industry that seeks to improve diagnosis and monitoring of osteoarthritis (OA) and foster development of new treatments, has released its first set of data.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Efficacy of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate May Depend on Level of Osteoarthritis Pain
In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine*, the popular dietary supplement combination of glucosamine plus chondroitin sulfate did not provide significant relief from osteoarthritis pain among all participants. However, a smaller subgroup of study participants with moderate-to-severe pain showed significant relief with the combined supplements.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
“Let’s Talk OPPERA: A New Study on TMJ Disorders”
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), announced recently the launch of a seven-year clinical study that could accelerate research on better pain-controlling treatments for a jaw condition called temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJDs). Called Orofacial Pain: Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment, or OPPERA, the $19.1 million project marks the first-ever large, prospective clinical study to identify risk factors that contribute to someone developing a TMJ disorder.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Protein Complex Linked to Pain Hypersensitivity
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, plays a critical role in learning and memory. It does so biochemically by binding to and signaling through the so-called TrkB receptor displayed on the surface of neurons. This precise interaction helps neurons to modulate the strength of the signals transmitted through their synapses, which in turn promotes the needed synaptic plasticity involved in learning and memory. In the January 4 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, NIDCR grantees and colleagues report that BDNF-TrkB signaling complex also plays an important and previously undiscovered role within the brain stem in the development of pain hypersensitivity.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Molecule Directly Implicated for First Time in Pain Signaling
When researchers use the term “nociception,” they mean the sensory component of pain. The term refers to the intricate, highway-like network of sensory transmission within our bodies, stretching from our extremities to the central nervous system and onward to the brain. But on its most fundamental level, nociception involves molecules and mechanisms. Precisely how do the individual molecules in our nerve cells generate, transmit, or sustain sensory signals? In the January 9 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, NIDCR scientists and their NIH colleagues report that a much studied protein called cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) does indeed play a regulatory role in pain signaling within the dorsal root ganglia, trigeminal ganglia, and spinal cord.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
2005 News Releases
Pomegranate Fruit May Have Cartilage Preserving Abilities
Pomegranate fruit extract can block enzymes that lead to cartilage destruction in osteoarthritis (OA), according to a recent study conducted at Case Western Reserve University, and partly funded by grants from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases NIDCR Launches Important Study on Temporomandibular Joint and Muscle Disorders
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced today the launch of a seven-year clinical study that could accelerate research on better pain-controlling treatments for a jaw condition called temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJDs).
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research -
NCCAM Announces Three Centers of Excellence and Two International Centers
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) announces funding of three centers of excellence and two international centers for the study of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). With these new awards NCCAM, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), continues to enhance CAM research capacity by funding centers at leading U.S. institutions and by establishing new global partnerships.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Study Reveals Genomics of Inflammation from Severe Injury
When it comes to inflammation, too much of a good thing can be deadly. In some severely injured patients, this normal healing process can develop into a lethal, whole-body response, including bloodstream infection (sepsis) and multiple organ failure. How and why inflammation turns from healing to harming is still mysterious, so doctors can't accurately predict how each injured patient will fare.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
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Mouse Model for Osteoarthritis of TMJ
Osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) - where the jaw and skull bones meet on both sides of the head - is one of the more common of the over 20 pathologic conditions that are known to affect this joint. Typically, those who develop this condition receive a diagnosis only when damage to the TMJ is so advanced that it is visible with current imaging techniques.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
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A Spouse Can Help Ease the Pain of Osteoarthritis
With the help of a spouse, improvement can be made in the self-management of osteoarthritis (OA) pain. According to research funded in part by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) at Duke University Medical Center, an intervention using spouse-assisted coping skills training and exercise training can improve physical fitness, pain coping, and self-efficacy in patients with OA of the knees.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
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Hormone Replacement Not Associated with Severe Lupus Flares
Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) – a disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and damages healthy tissues of the skin, joints and internal organs – may experience the benefits of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) without an increased risk of severe disease flares, according to a major study funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health (NIH).
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
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Gene Therapy Relives Neuropathic Pain in Rats
Using a weakened herpes virus to deliver a neurotransmitter-related gene to sensory neurons alleviates pain for up to 6 weeks in rats with chronic pain caused by nerve damage, a new study shows. The findings may lead to the first effective treatment for people affected by this type of "neuropathic" pain.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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Cancer Drug Holds Promise as a Lupus Treatment
Early research partly funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases shows that the cancer medication rituximab may someday be effective against another devastating disease: systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus).
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
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Hyaluronic Acid Shows Potential as Biomarker for Osteoarthritis
The blood level of hyaluronic acid (HA), a lubricating substance within cartilage and the synovial fluid in joints, may be a useful biomarker signaling the presence and severity of osteoarthritis, according to research recently funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
- NIHSeniorHealth Offers Information About Shingles
Each year, 600,000 or more Americans are diagnosed with shingles, a painful skin disease caused by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus. Anyone who has had chicken-pox is at risk for shingles, though people over age 50 are at greatest risk. Effective treatments and prevention have been limited, but recent research has shown that shingles can be treated if treatment is started early. Now information about shingles—how to recognize and treat it—is only a mouse click away.
National Institute on Aging
- Research Shows Common Virus Can Trigger Lupus
For some time, doctors have suspected that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) - the culprit behind infectious mononucleosis - may be related to the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) in certain people. A new study partly supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) helps confirm the connection. It also begins to explain how the virus may get the disease started and, ultimately, how some cases of lupus might be prevented.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
- Studies Offer New Advances in Treating Chronic Skin Ulcers
While new technologies – including grafts of bioengineered skin – exist to help promote the healing of chronic wounds, doctors have had no way to determine early on which wounds might require these advanced and expensive procedures. Furthermore, development of more effective and perhaps less expensive treatments have been hampered by the length and expense of clinical trials required to study them. New research supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases addresses both of these issues.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
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