Chronic Pain Press Releases

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.

If you ever had a set of Micronauts – toy robots with removable body parts – you probably had fun swapping their heads, imagining how it would affect their behavior. Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have been performing similar experiments on ion channels – pores in our nerve cells – to sort out the channels' key functional parts.

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.

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.

A new study shows that a reduction in small-diameter nerve fibers is evident in the devastating chronic pain syndrome known as complex regional pain syndrome-type I (CRPS-I), which was formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy. This finding of nerve damage could provide a biomarker, or a specific physical trait, that clinicians could use in the future to help diagnose and measure the natural history of CRPS.

A new study shows that a reduction in small-diameter nerve fibers is evident in the devastating chronic pain syndrome known as complex regional pain syndrome-type I (CRPS-I), which was formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy. This finding of nerve damage could provide a biomarker, or a specific physical trait, that clinicians could use in the future to help diagnose and measure the natural history of CRPS.

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.

While the theory that “mind over matter” exists is an ancient belief, the scientific studies to support this idea have remained elusive. A new study provides brain imaging evidence that positive thinking interacts with and shapes the sensory experience of pain. This study suggests that decreasing the expectation of pain can reduce both the pain-related brain activity and perception of pain intensity. This knowledge may lead to new and effective ways to manage chronic pain.

While the theory that “mind over matter” exists is an ancient belief, the scientific studies to support this idea have remained elusive. A new study provides brain imaging evidence that positive thinking interacts with and shapes the sensory experience of pain. This study suggests that decreasing the expectation of pain can reduce both the pain-related brain activity and perception of pain intensity. This knowledge may lead to new and effective ways to manage chronic pain.

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.

A new study shows that opioid drugs taken orally could provide relief for some of the more than 2 million Americans suffering with chronic pain resulting from damage to the nervous system.
Fact Sheet

For centuries, doctors have tried to find effective ways to treat chronic pain, a devastating neurological disorder that affects almost 90 million Americans. A new study shows that two proteins in the brain trigger the neuronal changes that amplify and sustain this type of pain. The finding may lead to new ways of treating chronic pain.
Fact Sheet

Scientists funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) may soon be able to reduce sensitivity to stimuli that are associated with chronic neuropathic and inflammatory pain by disabling certain nerve cells that send pain signals to the brain.

Pain is an extremely disabling condition leading to an annual cost of $65 billion lost in work productivity and 4 billion work days. It also accounts for 40 million visits per year to physicians for "new" pain and $3 billion in sales each year of over-the-counter analgesics. Scientists studying animal models with support from the National Institutes of Health have found that a chemical, called neurokinin A, may be responsible for the body's response to moderate-to-intense pain. This finding, reported in the March 26, 1998, issue of Nature, may eventually lead to new treatments for pain.

Investigators have isolated a tiny population of neurons, located in the spinal cord, that together form a major portion of the pathway responsible for carrying persistent pain signals to the brain. When given injections of a lethal chemical cocktail, the cells, whose sole function is communication of this type of pain, are killed off.

A new study shows that opioid drugs taken orally could provide relief for some of the more than 2 million Americans suffering with chronic pain resulting from damage to the nervous system.
Fact Sheet

For centuries, doctors have tried to find effective ways to treat chronic pain, a devastating neurological disorder that affects almost 90 million Americans. A new study shows that two proteins in the brain trigger the neuronal changes that amplify and sustain this type of pain. The finding may lead to new ways of treating chronic pain.
Fact Sheet

Scientists funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) may soon be able to reduce sensitivity to stimuli that are associated with chronic neuropathic and inflammatory pain by disabling certain nerve cells that send pain signals to the brain.