research

Advances in Understanding Migraine: New Mechanisms and Innovative Translational Models

A headache symposium at the 2019 American Pain Society Scientific Meeting highlighted emerging areas of research in the field

by Francie Moehring on 16 Jul 2019

Comment

Migraine is the second most disabling condition worldwide, trailing only low back pain, yet it remains neglected as a field of research.

Conferences

Research

The Missing Link Between Disinhibition and Excitation in the Spinal Cord During Chronic Pain: Taking a STEP Forward

Converging evidence from rodent and human tissue points to the phosphatase STEP61 as a hub of dorsal horn pain processing

by Neil Andrews on 15 Jul 2019

Comment

Spinal cord pain processing is a complicated phenomenon involving different neurobiological mechanisms and molecular players. Dorsal horn disinhibition spurred by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and excitation mediated by NMDA…

Research

Newly Discovered Microcircuitry Between the Thalamus and Anterior Cingulate Cortex Controls Pain-Related Aversion

Optogenetics reveals complexity of the system, challenges current views

by Stephani Sutherland on 9 Jul 2019

Comment

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has long been known as a key node in processing affective components of pain in animals and people. But little is known about the…

Research

Emotional Mirror Neurons Respond to Pain in Self and Others

Cells in the rat anterior cingulate cortex encode felt and observed pain

by Stephani Sutherland on 1 Jul 2019

Comment

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…

Research

Wow, That’s FAAH-OUT: Newly Discovered Genetic Mutations in a Woman Who Feels No Pain

Co-inheritance of FAAH SNP and microdeletion in novel pseudogene termed FAAH-OUT identified in a woman with insensitivity to pain

by Dara Bree on 20 Jun 2019

Comment

Genetic mutations that produce congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) have sparked enormous interest in the pain field in the last decade as they offer enticing clues about the pathophysiology…

Research

Spontaneous Firing in DRG Neurons From Patients With Neuropathic Pain

Two studies of human transcriptome also bolster evidence for sex differences

by Stephani Sutherland on 13 Jun 2019

Comment

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…

Research

Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Causes Migraine-Like Pain in Female But Not Male Rodents

Sexually dimorphic response to dural CGRP may explain why migraines are more prevalent in women

by Francie Moehring on 3 Jun 2019

Comment

Migraine is a complex condition that causes more disability than all other neurological disorders combined. Characterized by an extreme throbbing headache, increased sensitivity to light, touch, and sound, nausea…

Research

Kappa Opioid System in Nucleus Accumbens Drives Pain-Induced Negative Affect

Rodent study reveals that disinhibition of dynorphin-containing neurons explains reduced motivation seen during inflammatory pain

by Dara Bree on 23 May 2019

Comment

Pain is more than a physical sensation. For many people, it extends beyond the sensory “ouch” and is associated with negative affective states, including anxiety, depression, and reduced motivation.…

Drug Development

Research

A Search for Blood Biomarkers of Pain

A recent study identifies a number of blood gene expression biomarkers that predict pain in psychiatric patients; findings also point to new treatment avenues

by Lincoln Tracy on 6 May 2019

Comment

Pain is a subjective experience that cannot be directly measured or quantified. This has spurred the pain field’s search for biomarkers: molecules, genes, or other biological factors that could…

Research

Not All Pain Is the Same: Characterizing the Extent of High-Impact Chronic Pain

Epidemiological findings highlight the need for patient-centered care

by Stephani Sutherland on 23 Apr 2019

Comment

Chronic pain exacts a huge toll on patients, healthcare systems, and the economy. But the way that chronic pain is typically defined—by how long it lasts—provides little information about…

Research

A Worldwide Scientific and Policy Response to the Problem of Chronic Pain

At the 2018 World Congress on Pain, plenary speaker Fiona Blyth said it’s time to address the impact of pain on the global burden of disease

by Alisa Johnson on 18 Apr 2019

Comment

Editor’s note: The 17th IASP World Congress on Pain took place September 12-16, 2018, in Boston, US. At the Congress, 12 early-career pain researchers took part in the PRF Correspondents Program, a science communications…

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Pain Research Leaders Convene to Chart a Path to Pain Biomarkers

An objective measure of chronic pain could improve treatment and translation

by Stephani Sutherland on 11 Apr 2019

Comment

Physicians have at their disposal a battery of tests to measure heartrate, blood pressure, and temperature—objective, quantifiable indicators of disease. But no such biomarkers exist yet for chronic pain.…

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Research

Pain-in-a-Dish Expands the Nav1.7 Research Menu

Two new studies use sensory neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells to examine the pain mechanisms of inherited erythromelalgia and congenital insensitivity to pain

by Neil Andrews on 1 Apr 2019

When it comes to the experimental tools that researchers use to understand pain at the cellular and molecular level, dorsal root ganglion neurons from animals—and more recently from human…

Drug Development

Research

Probing the Intersection of Sleep and Pain with Brain Imaging

Sleep loss leads to increases in activity in the somatosensory cortex and decreases in the insula, thalamus, and nucleus accumbens

by Stephani Sutherland on 25 Mar 2019

Comment

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…

Research

Removing Damaged Nerves: A Potential Role for Natural Killer Cells in Neuropathic Pain

NK cells degenerate injured axons and may help to reduce pain from nerve injury in mice

by Dara Bree on 12 Mar 2019

Comment

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…

Research

A Neural Ensemble in the Amygdala Makes Pain Unpleasant

A new mouse study identifies a brain circuit in the basolateral amygdala that encodes the affective but not somatic aspects of pain

by Francie Moehring on 7 Mar 2019

Comment

The experience of pain includes both sensory and affective components. Pain researchers have learned a lot about the former—about the peripheral mechanisms by which noxious stimuli are transduced into…

Research

Pain in a Social Context

Symposium at 2018 IASP World Congress on Pain in Boston highlighted how social interactions affect pain perception in rodents and people

by Dara Bree on 28 Feb 2019

Comment

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…

Conferences

Research

A Neural Pathway for Soothing Sustained Pain

New research puts forth spinal TAC1-lineage neurons as responsible for behaviors that help mice “cope” with painful stimuli; exactly what those behaviors represent, and relevance of findings to chronic pain, remain uncertain

by Dara Bree on 20 Feb 2019

Comment

The response to a painful stimulus generally consists of two phases: a quick withdrawal from the stimulus, followed by behaviors such as rubbing or licking of the injured area…

Research

Male Mice—and Men—Remember the Pain

Stress-dependent “pain memory” seen only in males, according to a new study of conditioned pain hypersensitivity

by Stephani Sutherland on 11 Feb 2019

Comment

As preclinical pain research increasingly includes both female and male animals, sex differences in pain are becoming more and more apparent. New work from Jeffrey Mogil, McGill University, Montreal,…

Research

A New Classification of Chronic Pain for Better Patient Care and Research

IASP Working Group classification system developed for inclusion in latest revision of World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases, offering promise to improve pain management, research and policy

by Kayt Sukel on 4 Feb 2019

Comment

Editor's Note: Since publication of this article, WHO adopted ICD-11, including the new classification system for chronic pain developed by the IASP Task Force. Read the IASP press release…

Research

How Antidepressants Ease Neuropathic Pain

A new study identifies a dual noradrenergic mechanism to explain the anti-allodynic effect of acute versus chronic antidepressant treatment

by Kayt Sukel on 28 Jan 2019

Comment

For decades, antidepressants have been a first-line treatment for neuropathic pain. Yet how these drugs function at the cellular and molecular level to produce analgesia is not well understood,…

Drug Development

Research

Hippocampal Extracellular Matrix Modulates Chronic Pain and Related Memory Deficits

Mouse study suggests matrix metalloproteinase 8 as potential drug target

by Stephani Sutherland on 14 Jan 2019

Comment

The vast majority of pain research focuses on neurons, and to a much lesser extent glia, but new research now shows that the extracellular matrix (ECM), the supportive milieu…

Research

The Role of Expectations in the Pain Response

New research in healthy participants shows how expectancy effects can make pain a self-fulfilling prophecy

by Dara Bree on 17 Dec 2018

Comment

Past experiences shape our expectations about the future, and those expectations can simultaneously affect how we experience new events. Sometimes this can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy where people…

Research

Mechanosensitive Ion Channel Piezo2 Mediates Tactile Allodynia

Studies in mice and humans suggest the channel could be a therapeutic target

by Stephani Sutherland on 10 Dec 2018

Comment

Two new papers show that Piezo2, the mechanosensitive ion channel that brings about the sensations of gentle touch, vibration, and proprioception, also triggers tactile allodynia in mice and humans,…

Research

Symptoms of Opioid Dependence Linked to Gut Microbiota

Morphine-induced changes in bacterial composition of the gut causally related to neuroinflammation and behavioral alterations in mice

by Sarah Najjar on 26 Nov 2018

Comment

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…

Research

A Bifunctional Opioid Is Analgesic—and Safe—in Nonhuman Primates

Dual nociceptin/mu opioid receptor agonist relieves acute pain without the potential for abuse, tolerance, or respiratory depression

by Matthew Soleiman on 19 Nov 2018

Comment

The search for a safer opioid has revealed a new candidate. A team led by Mei-Chuan Ko, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, US, and Nurulain Zaveri, Astraea Therapeutics,…

Drug Development

Research

A New Mechanism of Chemotherapy-Induced Painful Peripheral Neuropathy

Detrimental effects of the chemotherapeutic drug bortezomib reversed by interfering with sphingolipid metabolism in spinal cord astrocytes, according to a rodent study

by Kayt Sukel on 5 Nov 2018

Comment

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…

Drug Development

Research

Angiotensin Signaling Contributes to Neuropathic Pain via Peripheral Macrophages

New findings conflict with previous evidence of direct action on neurons

Stephani Sutherland on 22 Oct 2018

Comment

Angiotensin has been known for nearly 100 years as a hormone that controls blood pressure. But recently, the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) has emerged as a promising…

Drug Development

Research

Metformin Alleviates Cognitive Deficits From Neuropathic Pain in Mice

Significant differences observed between males and females

by Stephani Sutherland on 10 Oct 2018

Comment

Chronic pain affects the whole brain, causing cognitive deficits as well as sleep and mood disruptions. Imaging studies in people have shown that chronic pain causes functional and structural…

Drug Development

Research

Inflammatory Pain: Be It Resolved!

GPR37, a receptor expressed on macrophages, regulates phagocytosis and contributes to pain resolution

by Dara Bree on 8 Oct 2018

Comment

Pain and inflammation following tissue damage serve as powerful protective measures to promote rest and enable healing. While researchers have a good grasp of what causes pain and inflammation…

Research

A New Explanation for Itchy Eyes

Specialized nerve fibers innervate the conjunctiva of mice to regulate allergic itch

by Matthew Soleiman on 24 Sep 2018

Comment

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…

Research

Doing a Flip From Aversion to Reward

Melanocortin 4 receptors in the striatum control whether mice assign positive or negative valence to harmful stimuli, including pain

by Nathan Fried on 10 Sep 2018

Comment

What happens in the brain to ensure that animals are motivated to avoid painful and other harmful stimuli? It’s an important question for the pain field, considering the emotional…

Research

Modified Botulinum Molecules Ease Pain in Mouse Models

New constructs target spinal NK1R-expressing neurons, or mu opioid receptor-containing cells, to relieve inflammatory and neuropathic pain

by Kayt Sukel on 23 Aug 2018

Comment

Botulinum toxin, a neurotoxin made by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, inhibits neuronal signaling by blocking neurotransmitter release, leading to paralysis. Researchers from University College London (UCL), UK; the University…

Drug Development

Research

Volunteer Recruitment for Experimental Pain Research: A Note of Caution

A recent study suggests the presence of sampling bias in human pain studies, but the effects are modest

by Dara Bree on 10 Aug 2018

Comment

Experimental pain research in people often relies on the recruitment of healthy volunteers. However, as pain research often involves unpleasant and painful stimuli, it may be subject to sampling…

Research

Endogenous Opioid Peptides and Non-Peptide Opioid Drugs Drive Different Patterns of Receptor Activation

Nanobody biosensor reveals that peptides activate opioid receptors first at the plasma membrane and then in endosomes, while drugs also propel activation in the Golgi apparatus

by Kayt Sukel on 16 Jul 2018

Comment

Non-peptide opioid drugs like morphine and fentanyl bind to opioid receptors (ORs) on the neuronal cell membrane, just as naturally occurring peptide OR ligands do, to bring about analgesia.…

Drug Development

Research

When Touch Causes Itch: A New Role for Merkel Cells in the Skin

A recent mouse study identifies cells that regulate alloknesis through Piezo2

by Dara Bree on 2 Jul 2018

Comment

The sensation of light touch in mammals is mediated by Piezo2 ion channel-containing Merkel cells, which are concentrated in touch-sensitive areas of the skin. Now, a new study proposes…

Research

A Molecular Complex Within the Brain Underlies Opioid Tolerance in Rodents

Disrupting the interaction among opioid receptors, vasopressin receptors, and beta-arrestin-2 offers a potential strategy to slow tolerance in humans, though questions remain

by Matthew Soleiman on 19 Jun 2018

Comment

Patients who take opioids for chronic pain typically develop tolerance to these drugs. Now, researchers led by Taka-aki Koshimizu, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Japan, and Yukio Takano, Fukuoka University,…

Drug Development

Research

Modeling Discogenic Low Back Pain in the Tails of Rats—And Treating It, Too

Hyaluronic acid hydrogel biomaterial prevents pain caused by intervertebral disc injury at the base of the tail

by Nathan Fried on 18 Jun 2018

Comment

Nearly half of chronic low back pain stems from degeneration of the intervertebral discs that sit between each of the spine’s vertebra. To study this phenomenon in animals, researchers…

Research

NIH Announces HEAL Initiative to Combat Opioid Crisis

Pain research gets a boost in funding as part of the effort

by Stephani Sutherland on 5 Jun 2018

Pain researchers and advocates are cheering the announcement of the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative, which promises to roughly double US National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding…

Research

Highlights From the American Pain Society Scientific Summit: Can Nanomedicine Play a Role in the Future of Pain Treatment?

A session at the March 4-6, 2018, event featured animal studies on macrophage-targeted nanomedicine

by Ashley Cowie on 29 May 2018

Comment

Editor’s note: The following is a report on research presented during a session on pain nanomedicine at the American Pain Society (APS) Annual Scientific Meeting. This year, the meeting…

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Research

Danger Ahead: Threat Signals Converge to Drive Pain, Hunger

Two new studies identify shared neural circuitry in the hindbrain’s parabrachial nucleus

by Stephani Sutherland on 24 May 2018

Survival is the prime directive of every animal, and it takes work. Animals are under constant threat from starvation, thirst, extreme temperatures, and life-threatening injury and illness. But when…

Research

Highlights From the American Pain Society Scientific Summit: Muscle Pain

Symposium at March 4-6, 2018 event featured discussion of underlying mechanisms of muscle pain in different animal models

by Francie Moehring on 17 May 2018

Comment

Editor’s note: The following is a report on research presented during a symposium on muscle pain at the American Pain Society (APS) Annual Scientific Meeting. This year, the meeting…

Conferences

Research

Three Is Not a Crowd: A Trio of Molecular Sensors Protects Organisms Against Acute Heat

TRPV1, TRPM3, and TRPA1 ion channels act collectively as a fault-tolerant mechanism in mice

by Matthew Soleiman on 14 May 2018

Comment

For decades, researchers have looked for the molecular sensors tuned to potentially harmful heat. Now, a team led by Joris Vriens and Thomas Voets, University of Leuven, Belgium, has…

Research

Mu and Delta Opioid Receptors: Where Are They, and Do They Interact?

New study finds MOR and DOR co-expression limited to small populations of dorsal and ventral horn neurons, and that these opioid receptor subtypes function independently to regulate pain

by Dara Bree on 3 May 2018

Comment

Opioid receptors mediate opioid analgesia and are located throughout the central nervous system (CNS). How they are organized—the cell populations and neural circuits in which they are present—and whether…

Research

Could Cannabis Legalization Help Ease the Opioid Crisis?

Two recent studies show that legalization is associated with decreased opioid prescribing, but many questions remain

by Kayt Sukel on 1 May 2018

Comment

The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. The most recent statistics released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that, on…

Research

The Fight Against Bacterial Lung Infections: A New Role for Nociceptors?

TRPV1+ neurons regulate host defense against infection and pneumonia by suppressing neutrophils and gamma delta T cell responses

by Dara Bree on 17 Apr 2018

Comment

The pain field is becoming increasingly aware of the links between the nervous and immune systems, and how complex interactions between the two underlie many pain disorders. A new…

Research

Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions and Stress: A Meeting Report From the CACPR 3rd Annual Symposium

Recent event discusses complex pain-stress relationship observed in a number of disorders

by Shana Burrowes, Samuel Krimmel, Janell Payano Sosa, and Jing Zhang on 9 Apr 2018

Comment

Editor’s note: The following is a meeting report from the University of Maryland’s Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research (CACPR) 3rd Annual Symposium. The theme of this event, which…

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Research

A Pathogenic Autoantibody Causes Pain by Releasing the Brakes on Sensory Neurons

Patient-derived CASPR2 autoantibodies decrease potassium channel expression in mouse sensory neurons

by Nathan Fried on 3 Apr 2018

Comment

Patients who develop autoimmunity to contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2), a neuronal adhesion protein, share a number of clinical features, with neuropathic pain being one of them. But the underlying…

Research

Tamper-Resistant Opioid Yields Mixed Results

New formulation of oxycodone curbs tampering among high-risk individuals but doesn’t change overall opioid use or related harm at a population level, according to a new Australian study

by Matthew Soleiman on 22 Mar 2018

Comment

Like the United States, Australia is in the midst of an opioid crisis. In response, companies in both countries have introduced versions of oxycodone that are difficult to tamper…

Drug Development

Research

New Approaches to Better Assess Pain in Animals and Treat Pain in People: Highlights From SfN 2017

Work on persistent homology, and vagus nerve stimulation, presented at recent meeting

by Ashley Cowie on 15 Mar 2018

Comment

The following is the second of a two-part report on research presented at the 2017 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, which took place November 11-15 in Washington, DC. See…

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The IASP Pain Research Forum is a publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain