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The inherent potential of stem cells to engender any cellular form and function drives the field of regenerative medicine. In recent years, stem cell research has witnessed prolific growth particularly in disease-modeling, drug discovery and patient-specific cell therapy. A major challenge in stem cell-mediated therapy is to understand and promote integration of transplanted stem cells […]
Neurobiologist Clifford Woolf discusses the importance of pain points and the surprising twists of his latest research Pain—feared, misunderstood and even poeticized in works of art and literature—has long captivated the scientific imagination of Clifford Woolf since his days as a medical student in South Africa. Woolf, a Harvard Medical School professor of neurobiology and neurology at
In the wake of mounting overdoses and deaths from the opioids-addiction crisis sweeping across the U.S., drugmakers are racing to come up with safer painkillers. Companies are highly motivated to create alternatives to the $4 billion opioid market. The federal government is cracking down on lax prescriptions that contribute to many thousands of deaths a
A study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has shown that chronic pain may occur when pain receptors migrate from the nerve cell’s surface to the cell’s inner chambers, out of the reach of current pain medications. The discovery, in rodents, may lead to the development of a new class of medications for chronic
Functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder, which involves chronic or frequent pain that does not result from a specific, identifiable cause. Symptoms The primary symptom of FAPS is abdominal pain. The pain can often be very severe and impact the quality of life of patients significantly. This can even disrupt their
Nearly every advance in modern medicine, from diagnosis to treatment, has benefited from animal studies. Basic research has made vital contributions to all aspects of medical care, including our understanding of pain pathophysiology. However, the applicability of these findings to humans remains limited. “Translation from animal to human is hindered by many obstacles, in particular
Applications from regenerative medicine to gene therapy as well as antiviral therapeutic interventions emphasize self-healing possibilities. Therapeutic Interventions Emphasize Self-Healing Therapeutic interventions of various kinds try to improve the body’s capacity to defend, repair, and even cure itself. Interventions that attempt to enhance self-healing span cell-based therapy, gene therapy, small molecule drugs, biologics, and tissue
Visceral pain relates to pain in the organs of the body. So it could be the chest, or more likely, the abdomen or the pelvis. It is somewhat unlike other pain syndromes. In a sense that visceral pain activates the autonomic nervous system, specifically the parasympathetic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, or both. Which
Recently scientists have found a substance that activates pain along the central nervous system. This substance is also able to decrease pain in the peripheral nervous system. It was named Substance P. And may be the reason many pain management drugs appear to be successful amid laboratory tests. As well as unsatisfactory in real-life circumstances. The
A therapeutic intervention involving confronting and expressing emotional and traumatic experiences shows greater improvement in fibromyalgia pain. When compared with conventional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), randomized trial results show. It was also linked to significant pain reductions when offered as a one-time intervention in the primary care setting, researchers report. “Current evidence-based psychological interventions for fibromyalgia,
