Current Pain and Headache Reports最新文献

Purpose of the review: In the United States, spinal cord injuries affect approximately 18,000 individuals annually, most commonly resulting from mechanical trauma. The consequent paraplegia severely impairs motor functions, creating an urgent need for innovative therapeutic strategies that extend beyond traditional rehabilitation and pharmacotherapy. This review assesses the effectiveness of Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) in improving motor function in patients with spinal cord injuries, with a particular focus on paraplegia. SCS, an emerging intervention, has gained attention for its ability to activate paralyzed muscles and enhance the effects of physical therapy.

Recent findings: Our review demonstrates that SCS can lead to significant functional improvements when optimally combined with rehabilitation strategies. The success of SCS depends largely on the precise placement of electrodes with individualized parameters and the integration of stimulation with intensive physical training. This review underscores the considerable potential of SCS to improve motor outcomes in individuals with paraplegia caused by spinal cord injury, emphasizing the need for further research to optimize SCS parameters, electrode placement, and its integration with rehabilitation protocols. This review highlights the potential of SCS as a therapeutic intervention for improving motor function in individuals with paraplegia caused by spinal cord injuries.

Purpose of review: Quickly referenceable, streamlined, algorithmic approaches for advanced pain management are lacking for patients, trainees, non-pain specialists, and interventional specialists. This manuscript aims to address this gap by proposing a comprehensive, evidence-based algorithm for managing neuropathic, nociceptive, and cancer-associated pain. Such an algorithm is crucial for pain medicine education, offering a structured approach for patient care refractory to conservative management.

Recent findings: A comprehensive literary review with PubMed and regulatory documents from the United States Food and Drug Administration were searched for a variety of interventions. Pain syndromes were categorized into nociceptive and neuropathic pain, and an algorithm was constructed. Serving as an educational tool for patients, trainees, and non-pain specialists, and as an accessible reference for pain specialists, this algorithm bridges knowledge gaps, promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, and streamlines the learning curve for new practitioners. The strength of this algorithm lies in integrating extensive clinical data, emphasizing the latest clinical evidence, and providing a structured decision-making pathway.

Purpose of review: Low back pain (LBP) is considered an important issue of public health, with annual prevalence estimations almost achieving 60% of the worldwide population. Available treatments have a limited impact on this condition, although they allow to alleviate pain and recover the patient's quality of life. This review aims to go deeper on the understanding of this condition, providing an updated, brief, and concise whole picture of this common musculoskeletal problem.

Recent findings: Scientific literature, current clinical practice and clinical guidelines are summarized, focusing on three key aspects: classification of LBP, diagnosis of symptomatic lumbar hernia, and intervention strategies (conservative, surgical, and pharmacological). Benefits and drawbacks of each approach are tackled. The most appropriate intervention for LBP suffers is hitherto a conservative treatment based on therapeutic exercise, manual therapy and therapeutic education on the neurophysiological mechanisms of pain. Whether patient's condition is severe, does not improve with conservative treatment, or presents neurological symptoms, then surgical intervention is recommended. The efficiency of pharmaceutical approaches for LBP lacks high-quality evidence-based studies, and still needs to be in-depth explored. Current treatments help to improve symptoms and patient's perspectives. However, further research in the field of herniated discs is essential in order to seek a therapy that could definitely cure or eliminate this condition.

Purpose of review: Nutraceuticals are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, so a careful literature review is essential to make clinical decisions. Riboflavin or vitamin B2 can be recommended for migraine prevention in adults, but pediatric use is not proven. Adverse events are minimal. Coenzyme Q10 has Level C evidence for migraine prevention and low adverse events. Feverfew may be effective for migraine prevention, but the absence of clear safety studies, the differences in doses and characteristics of dried leaf preparations, and the myriad of feverfew cellular effects suggest caution in recommendation for use. Magnesium is recommended for migraine prevention and intravenous acute use, with the potential for generally mild gastrointestinal tolerability adverse events. Melatonin has very low certainty for evidence of efficacy, and is weakly recommended in those with sleep problems. However, purity of US sold melatonin is very poor. Butterbur or petasites preparations have strong evidence for efficacy and concern for hepatotoxicity. Please see the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health/NIH online site https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/butterbur for up-to-date recommendations on whether to use this nutraceutical.

Purpose of review: This review discusses the diagnosis and treatment of nervus intermedius neuralgia (NIN) and identifies gaps in the literature.

Recent findings: The nervus intermedius is a branch of the facial nerve. NIN presents as a rare neuralgia of this nerve, causing deep ear pain, which may radiate to the auditory canal, auricle, mastoid, soft palate, temple, and angle of the jaw. NIN most commonly presents in middle-aged women; neurovascular compression involving the anterior inferior cerebellar artery is the most common etiology described. Despite its diagnostic criteria in the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD-3), NIN may lack a trigger zone and may manifest as achy or neuralgiform pain instead of the typically described sharp or shooting pain. Like trigeminal neuralgia, NIN can be divided into classic, idiopathic, secondary, or painful neuropathy. Although there are no established guidelines for treating NIN, many possible treatments are used. Experience from treating trigeminal neuralgia suggests that carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine can be considered first-line. Patients with medically refractory NIN may benefit from neurosurgery referral for microvascular decompression or nerve sectioning. More research is needed to elucidate the range of clinical presentations in patients with NIN. Current data are limited and suggest that symptoms may diverge from the ICHD-3 diagnostic criteria. Although various treatments have been attempted, they often lack solid evidence and are typically derived from approaches used for other neuralgias. Proper diagnosis is crucial, particularly when considering surgical referral, due to the potential overlap of NIN with other neuralgias affecting the head and neck.

Purpose of review: Chronic pain is highly prevalent and involves a complex interaction of sensory, emotional, and cognitive processes, significantly influenced by ambient temperature. Despite advances in pain management, many patients continue to experience inadequate pain relief. This review aims to consolidate and critically evaluate the current evidence on the impact of ambient temperature on chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia (FM), multiple sclerosis (MS), complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and osteoarthritis (OA).

Recent findings: Patients with FM often report pain exacerbations due to temperature changes, with studies showing lower thresholds for heat and cold-induced pain compared to healthy controls. In MS, the Uhthoff phenomenon, characterized by temperature-induced neurological deterioration, underscores the significance of ambient temperature in pain management. CRPS patients exhibit heightened pain sensitivity to temperature changes, with both warm and cold stimuli potentially aggravating symptoms. OA patients frequently report increased pain and rigidity associated with lower temperatures and higher humidity. Understanding the mechanisms through which temperature influences pain can enhance pain management strategies. This review highlights the need for further research to elucidate these mechanisms and develop targeted interventions, ultimately improving the quality of life for individuals with chronic pain conditions.

Purpose of review: Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a new frontier for aiding in the management of both acute and chronic pain, which may potentially transform opioid prescribing practices and addiction prevention strategies. In this review paper, not only do we discuss some of the current literature around predicting various opioid-related outcomes, but we also briefly point out the next steps to improve trustworthiness of these AI models prior to real-time use in clinical workflow.

Recent findings: Machine learning-based predictive models for identifying risk for persistent postoperative opioid use have been reported for spine surgery, knee arthroplasty, hip arthroplasty, arthroscopic joint surgery, outpatient surgery, and mixed surgical populations. Several machine learning-based models have been described to predict an individual's propensity for opioid use disorder and opioid overdose. Natural language processing and large language model approaches have been described to detect opioid use disorder and persistent postsurgical opioid use from clinical notes. AI holds significant promise in enhancing the management of acute and chronic opioids, which may offer tools to help optimize dosing, predict addiction risks, and personalize pain management strategies. By harnessing the power of AI, healthcare providers can potentially improve patient outcomes, reduce the burden of opioid addiction, and contribute to solving the opioid crisis.

Purpose of review: The use of stem cell therapy is a rapidly evolving and progressing frontier of science that has been used to treat illnesses such as malignancies, immunodeficiencies, and metabolic syndromes. This review aims to give an overview of the use of stem cell therapy in the treatment of pain caused by diabetic neuropathy, osteoarthritis, and other spinal cord pathologies.

Recent findings: Pain is defined as a generalized or localized feeling of distress related to a physical or emotional stimulus and can be caused by a multitude of pathologies. The field of pain management has explored many strategies such as gene therapies, neuromodulation, platelet-rich plasma, and numerous pharmacotherapies. The approach to the delivery of these strategies has varied, with the method of stem cell therapy delivery being the focus of this present investigation. In addition, we combined several different studies to analyze the effects of stem cell therapies and improvement in pain scores quantified by the visual analog scale (VAS). The overall results showed a mean difference of -2.58, suggesting that the stem cell treatment group had a lower VAS score at 6 months compared to the control group. The use of different types of stem cells, such as pluripotent and mesenchymal stem cells, play a critical role in the care of cases suffering from pain. Effective delivery methods are evolving and can transform treatment options in the future, for which large cohort studies are warranted.

Purpose of review: Exploration of the potential of serotonergic psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin and LSD, as potential treatments for headache disorders. This review addresses the need for well-informed physician guidelines and discusses mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of these treatments. Further research, including the consideration of combination with psychotherapy, is needed.

Recent findings: Psychedelics demonstrate promising outcomes as treatments for headache disorders. Recent findings indicated that some patients who underwent brief periods of treatment with psychedelics experienced a reduction in headache attack frequency, severity, or duration. When prescription medications are ineffective at treating headache disorders, or are habit-forming, patients often turn to alternative options. There is anecdotal evidence that psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin can effectively treat and prevent pain in patients with headache disorders, such as migraine or cluster headache. It is vital that physicians treating patients who self-treat with psychedelics be well-informed about the mechanisms and their effects to best advise their patients and coordinate their care well. This is a review assessing the literature on the mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of psychedelic drugs as a headache management intervention. We believe there is evidence that may support further investigation into the clinical use of psychedelic medications to treat cluster headache and migraine, including the consideration of use in conjunction with other interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy or acceptance and commitment training.

Purpose of review: To evaluate existing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on post-traumatic headache (PTH) following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Recent findings: We conducted a systematic search of PubMed and Embase databases from inception to February 1, 2024. Eligible fMRI studies were required to include adult participants diagnosed with acute or persistent PTH post-TBI in accordance with any edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. We identified five eligible fMRI studies: two on acute PTH and three on persistent PTH. These studies assessed resting-state functional connectivity involving comparisons with one or more of the following groups: people with migraine, those with mild TBI but no PTH, and healthy controls. In acute PTH, studies focused exclusively on functional connectivity between the periaqueductal gray or hypothalamus and other brain regions. In persistent PTH, evidence of altered functional connectivity was identified primarily within cingulate, sensorimotor, and visual regions, indicating a hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli in PTH. Despite these insights, the fMRI data remains sparse and is limited by inconsistent results and small samples. The paucity of fMRI studies on PTH limits our understanding of its neurobiological basis. The available evidence suggests that alterations in functional connectivity occur within brain areas involved in emotional and sensory discriminative aspects of pain processing. However, inconsistent results and small sample sizes underscore a critical need for larger, more rigorous fMRI studies. Future studies should also consider using task-based fMRI to investigate possible hypersensitivity to different sensory stimuli in PTH after TBI.