18 Sep 2017
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Integrating Stem Cells into Functional Neural Networks

Chronic Pain News, Nerve Pain, ,
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 into the host tissue. Fundamental to success of such therapies is development of robust methods to engraft stem cells and monitor their integration into the host network. Central to this theme, David Forsberg, Eric Herlenius and co-workers at Karolinska Institute (Stockholm) and Mahidol University (Bangkok) have recently published…
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04 Sep 2017
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Pain Points

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain, , ,
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 Boston Children’s Hospital, has been on a quest to understand the basic mechanisms of pain and to help spark the development of more effective therapies to alleviate pain points, especially ones that don’t have the abuse potential of opioids. Woolf is the senior author of…
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21 Aug 2017
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Can Weed and Snail Venom Replace Opioids?

Chronic Pain News, Therapies & Treatments, , , ,
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 year and has started to block the sale of medications it considers unsafe. Drugs such as morphine, fentanyl, and oxycodone are such powerful analgesics because they so effectively block pain signals by acting directly on the brain. Since they work at such a fundamental level, these…
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31 Jul 2017
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Pain Receptors Migrating may cause Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain Conditions, Chronic Pain News, Nerve Pain, , ,
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 pain that is more potent and less prone to side effects than currently available pain treatments. The study was published online today in the journal Science Translational Medicine. An estimated 20 percent of people have chronic pain at some point. Currently available therapies for chronic…
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23 Jan 2017
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome

Chronic Pain Conditions, ,
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 normal daily routine due to inability to take part in certain activities. It can also have a financial impact on their wellbeing and may increase levels of stress. The condition is not usually associated with gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea or constipation, and the findings…
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12 Dec 2016
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Advancing Pain Management Medicine: Human Studies

Chronic Pain News, Nerve Pain, Peripheral Neuropathy,
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 with the subject of pain, where the human organism and mind interact in quite a unique way,” Claudia Sommer, MD, a professor of neurology at the University of Würzburg in Germany, told Clinical Pain Advisor. Even so, valuable insights have been gained by the direct…
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19 Sep 2016
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Therapeutic Interventions to Effect Repairs and Fight Disease

Chronic Pain News, Therapies & Treatments, , ,
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 engineering. Advances in each of these areas are being followed by Allied Market Research. Which has concluded that stem cell technologies look especially promising. For example, stem cell technologies are set to revolutionize the human ability to produce neural cells in abundance. Stem cells may…
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22 Aug 2016
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Treating Visceral Pain

Chronic Pain Conditions, Nerve Pain, , ,
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 is why a lot of patients who have visceral pain also have associated nausea, vomiting and sweating.  More women than men suffer from visceral pain. More specifically from chronic pelvic pain; pain that can come from the bladder, the uterus, the fallopian tubes, the ovaries.…
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15 Aug 2016
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Substance P: new chemical capable of controlling pain

Chronic Pain News, , ,
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 study was published in the journal Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, on June 15. Explaining how scientists from Hebei Medical University, and the University of Leeds came across Substance P. It is a peptide that promotes pain responses of different kinds through the nervous system. Substance…
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18 Jul 2016
By webadmin@macmdaz.com

Emotional Expression Benefits Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain News, Nerve Pain, , ,
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, such as CBT, are relatively weak. We believe, because they do not help patients disclose, target, and resolve their conflicted emotional experiences," senior author Mark Lumley, PhD, professor of psychology at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, told Medscape Medical News. "We have demonstrated, however, that…
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