News Archive

Pain, including migraine pain, can be associated with sensory changes. It can also be an extremely unpleasant experience. But while the sensory characteristics of migraine pain have been examined…

Peripheral sensory neurons are classified based on characteristics such as anatomical structure, physiological responses to stimuli, and expression of gene markers. In a further attempt at classification, a new…

Everyone knows how unpleasant itch can be, and the relief that comes from scratching. But when it comes to the causes of itch, while acute itch is commonly associated…

Opioids provide powerful relief from pain, but their many serious side effects include a paradoxical increase in pain, a phenomenon referred to as opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH), in patients and…

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Definition of Pain Task Force has proposed an update to the organization’s official definition of pain to help better guide…

There are no effective treatments to prevent or reverse osteoarthritis (OA), a progressive, degenerative condition where joint cartilage, joint structures, and underlying bone come under attack. Nor are there…

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a fold of brain tissue tucked just atop the corpus callosum at the center of the brain, has become known as a hotbed of…

Women suffer from chronic pain conditions at much higher rates than men do, and they report higher pain than men. Researchers are hard at work studying the biological underpinnings…

Patients and doctors alike know that sleep and pain present something of a vicious cycle: Pain makes sleeping difficult, and losing sleep makes pain worse. But the brain mechanisms…

Damage to peripheral nerves sets in motion a series of events that facilitate the removal of neuronal debris following Wallerian degeneration and promote the regeneration of axons. But this…

Pain researchers are increasingly turning their attention to the social component of the biopsychosocial model of pain. At the 2018 IASP World Congress on Pain in Boston, in a…

Chronic opioid treatment leads to neuroinflammation, hyperalgesia, and anhedonia. Recent studies in both humans and rodents show that disruption of the gut microbiota is also a consequence of opioid…

Many chemotherapeutic drugs that kill cancer cells also damage the peripheral nervous system, resulting in chemotherapy-induced painful peripheral neuropathy (CIPN)—a condition that can last for weeks, months, or even…

When it comes to the eye, itch has its quirks. It’s usually felt in the conjunctiva, the membrane that lines the eyelids and covers the sclera (the white of…