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Scorpion Toxin Blocks Nav1.8 Channel, Pain in Grasshopper Mouse

Evolutionary adaptation turns painful toxin into analgesic

by Stephani Sutherland on 1 Nov 2013

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Most mammals, humans included, writhe in pain in response to a venomous sting from the bark scorpion. Not so the grasshopper mouse. The scorpion’s desert-dwelling cohabitant seems unperturbed by…

Research

Chloride Transporter Emerges as Druggable Target for Pain

KCC2-selective compound restores impaired chloride transport in neurons and improves hypersensitivity in rat model of neuropathic pain

by Stephani Sutherland on 16 Oct 2013

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The potassium-chloride cotransporter KCC2 might seem an unlikely target for the next generation of pain medications. The humble protein, found on neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal…

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Brain Activity Shifts as Pain Becomes Chronic

Lower back pain signals move from nociceptive regions to areas involved with emotional aspects of pain

by Abdul-Kareem Ahmed on 8 Oct 2013

Chronic back pain is associated with marked changes in brain activity compared to acute pain, says a new study from A. Vania Apkarian and colleagues at Northwestern University, Chicago,…

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Research Resources: Pain Networks Shows Connections Between Pain-Related Genes

New online tool provides fresh visual perspective on gene data

by Stephani Sutherland on 7 Oct 2013

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With the advent of high-throughput techniques such as microarrays, researchers have generated mountains of data about genes and proteins thought to participate in pain processes. But all that information…

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: The Next Wave in Pain Treatment?

Non-invasive technique shows promise but needs more study

by Stephani Sutherland on 3 Oct 2013

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Electrical stimulation of the motor cortex was established as an effective treatment for pain 20 years ago, but the risks and drawbacks of surgically implanting electrodes in the brain…

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Opioid Receptor Activity Masks Traces of Past Pain Long After Injury

Interrupting signaling produces withdrawal, hyperalgesia in mice

by Michele Solis on 2 Oct 2013

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As an injury heals, the dissipation of pain over time is apparently not a simple return to normal. According to a study published September 20 in Science, the pain-free…

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Mutation in Nav1.9 Sodium Channel Linked to Pain Insensitivity in People

Unexpectedly, gain of function in channel appears to lead to loss of pain sensation

by Stephani Sutherland on 27 Sep 2013

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People with congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) often come to severe bodily harm in the absence of protective painful feedback. Mutations leading to this infrequent disorder have been identified…

Research

First Responder: Nervous System Senses Bacterial Invasion

Staph organisms directly activate pain neurons and suppress immune response

by Carol Cruzan Morton on 29 Aug 2013

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A tender infection in a wound or surgical site by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus hurts for more reasons than anyone had suspected. A new study in mice shows that…

Research

News Brief: Substrate-Selective COX-2 Inhibitor Elevates Brain Endocannabinoids

Novel inhibitor reduces anxiety behaviors in mice, needs testing in pain models

by Pat McCaffrey on 20 Aug 2013

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Pharmacological strategies to increase endocannabinoids (ECs) could provide new treatments for a variety of diseases, from pain and inflammation to stress and anxiety disorders. A study published in the…

Research

Spinal Cord Stimulation: Promising Variation on a Theme?

Ramping up electrical frequency appears to alter neuronal activity in novel ways

by Stephani Sutherland on 14 Aug 2013

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Spinal cord stimulation (SCS)—the delivery of pulses of electric current directly to the spinal cord via implanted electrodes—is an increasingly utilized pain treatment that gives some relief to about…

Research

Novel Mechanisms of Ion Channel Regulation Implicated in Neuropathic Pain

Studies identify roles for a long noncoding RNA and a ubiquitin ligase in rodent models of nerve injury

by Carol Cruzan Morton on 25 Jul 2013

Neuropathic pain is thought to arise from injured nerves made hypersensitive in part by increased expression of sodium channels and decreased expression of potassium channels. Two different papers report…

Research

GWAS Meta-Analysis Ties New Loci to Migraine Susceptibility

First common missense variant also reported at IHC 2013

by Megan Talkington and Neil Andrews on 10 Jul 2013

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In a paper posted online June 23 in Nature Genetics, teams of researchers led by the International Headache Genetics Consortium report the largest meta-analysis of genomewide association studies (GWAS)…

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Pain-Specific Brain Activity Is Subtle, and Scattered

New study suggests that even visual and auditory cortices show pain signatures

by Megan Talkington on 9 Jul 2013

Researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to define neural signatures of pain in the brain face a daunting task, because pain elicits complex and distributed activity in many…

Research

Wnt Signaling Linked to Neuropathic Pain

Developmental regulators may provide new target to prevent pain pathogenesis

by Stephani Sutherland on 28 Jun 2013

Comment

The idea that reawakening of dormant developmental pathways, in mature sensory and spinal neurons after injury or insult, contributes to neuropathic pain has gained traction in recent years. Two…

Research

VGLUT3: First a Role in Hearing, Then a Part in Pain

A conversation with Rebecca Seal, a recipient of a 2013 Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain research grant from the Rita Allen Foundation and American Pain Society

by Neil Andrews on 17 Jun 2013

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This is the third in a three-part series of interviews with young investigators who were recognized for their work at the 8-11 May 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting of the…

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Elucidating a Role for Inhibitory Interneurons in Neuropathic Pain

A conversation with Reza Sharif-Naeini, a recipient of a 2013 Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain research grant from the Rita Allen Foundation and the American Pain Society

by Neil Andrews on 17 Jun 2013

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This is the second in a three-part series of interviews with young investigators who were recognized for their work at the 8-11 May 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting of the…

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People

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Progress Toward Understanding and Treating Itch

Silencing itch-transducing neurons, a role for TRPA1 in chronic itch, and a new itch neurotransmitter

by Megan Talkington on 10 Jun 2013

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It has been a banner year for research into the neurobiology of itch, the close cousin of pain. Three recent studies add to the rapidly advancing understanding of the…

Research

Peptides Hit Soft Spot for TRPV1 Sensitization

Potential target for inflammatory hyperalgesia exposed

by Stephani Sutherland on 4 Jun 2013

Comment

A stratagem to quiet the transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor type 1 (TRPV1) channel—rather than a frontal attack—might be the best way to quell its activity during pain, according…

Research

Pain-Related Fear in Children: From Psychology to Neuroimaging

A conversation with Laura Simons, recipient of the 2013 John C. Liebeskind Early Career Scholar Award from the American Pain Society

by Neil Andrews on 31 May 2013

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This is the first in a three-part series of interviews with young investigators who were recognized for their work at the 8-11 May 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American…

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People

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Antibiotics May Relieve Some Chronic Low Back Pain, Study Suggests

Low-grade infection of herniated disc may be to blame

by Carol Cruzan Morton on 30 May 2013

Comment

The origin of most chronic low back pain is a mystery to doctors and researchers, but the prevailing theory favors biomechanical instability and prescribes exercise-based care. A pair of…

Research

News Brief: Sleep-Disrupting Gene Mutation Implicated in Migraine

Deficit in casein kinase I delta enzyme tied to migraine in families with hereditary sleep disorder

by Megan Talkington on 15 May 2013

In a paper published May 1 in Science Translational Medicine, researchers report that mutations in the gene encoding the circadian regulator casein kinase I delta (CKIδ) are associated with…

Research

Spinal Interneurons: Much More Than Middlemen

A conditional knockout of excitatory dorsal horn interneurons reveals their essential role in signaling pain and itch

by Pete Farley on 14 May 2013

Comment

Nociceptive afferents, which carry pain signals to the spinal cord, and the projection neurons that relay those signals to the brain, are understandably the focus of most research on…

Research

One Gene, Many Receptors: μ-Οpioid Receptor Variants Offer Targets for Improving Drugs

News from Experimental Biology 2013, Boston

by Stephani Sutherland on 13 May 2013

Comment

Nearly 100 years ago, physician David Macht wrote, “If the entire materia medica were limited to the choice and use of only one drug, I am sure … the…

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A Brain Signature for Physical Pain?

Complex pattern of brain activity marks response to painful heat

by Megan Talkington and Pat McCaffrey on 7 May 2013

In the April 11 New England Journal of Medicine, researchers report an advance toward the goal of an objective measure of pain. A team led by Tor Wager, University…

Research

It Feels Cold When the Heat’s Turned Off

Eradication of CGRP-expressing primary sensory neurons in mice reveals a direct role for the cells in heat, itch, and—unexpectedly—an indirect role in cold sensitivity

by Pete Farley on 22 Apr 2013

Comment

Genetic ablation techniques, which can selectively excise particular cell types from living animals, have been a fruitful tool in recent sensory neuroscience research. In pain studies, these methods have…

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Organizing Principles

Classifying pain for healthcare, research

by Carol Cruzan Morton on 18 Apr 2013

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Where does it hurt? How bad does it hurt? Why does it hurt? The many inconsistent and inadequate ways of sorting chronic pain by anatomy, severity, and associated medical…

Research

Watching Pain Become Chronic

In a mouse model of recurrent pancreatitis, TRPV1 and TRPA1 drive pain and inflammation early on—and then something changes

by Megan Talkington on 11 Apr 2013

How do acute painful bouts of inflammation progress to chronic, intractable pain? Identifying the molecular basis of that transition—and how to stop the process—is critical to understanding, and treating,…

Research

A Path to Personalized Pain Treatment?

Experts say clinic-based observational studies can provide the evidence needed for rational opioid prescribing

by Megan Talkington on 5 Apr 2013

Comment

Opioids are in crisis. Many physicians and patients say that the medications can be used responsibly to treat chronic pain. Yet experts also warn that prescriptions are out of…

Drug Development

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A New Cause for Unexplained Pain in Children

Small-fiber peripheral neuropathy not just for adults

by Stephani Sutherland on 26 Mar 2013

A new study of childhood-onset chronic pain could change the way that clinicians evaluate and treat unexplained pain in kids. Anne Louise Oaklander and Max Klein of the Massachusetts…

Research

A New Challenge to the Maladaptive Plasticity Theory of Phantom Limb Pain

Source of pain remains elusive

by David C. Holzman on 21 Mar 2013

Comment

For two decades, the leading theory of phantom limb pain has been that this condition is caused by “maladaptive plasticity.” When the brain’s primary sensorimotor cortex no longer receives…

Research

A New Link to Migraine's Pain

Pannexin channel opening in cortical neurons tied to activation of trigeminal nociceptors

by Richard Saltus on 12 Mar 2013

Comment

More than 2,400 years after Hippocrates described migraines, the exact mechanisms that produce these throbbing, long-lasting headaches, often preceded by an “aura” of bizarre visual and other sensations, have…

Research

Unraveling the Mysteries of TRPV1 Regulation

Activity of purified channel in artificial liposomes suggests the protein is intrinsically heat sensitive, and negatively regulated by phosphoinositide lipids

by Stephani Sutherland on 11 Mar 2013

The transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) channel has emerged as a complex integrator of signals that can lead to chronic pain and hyperalgesia. Yet even as the…

Research

Making an IMMPACT on Pain Research

A decade after its first meeting, initiative has helped clinical trials move from confusion to consensus

by Megan Talkington on 5 Mar 2013

Comment

At the 2002 World Congress on Pain, two researchers got to talking. Robert Dworkin of the University of Rochester, New York, US, and Dennis Turk of the University of…

Conferences

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When an Ounce of Prevention Is the Cure for Chronic Neuropathic Pain

Shingles vaccine proven to reduce painful postherpetic neuralgia, but vaccination rates lag

by Raji Edayathumangalam on 26 Feb 2013

Comment

For many chronic or neuropathic pain conditions, the causes are obscure and treatments equally elusive. That is not the case for shingles and its sequelae, postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). The…

Research

Proposed Brain Activity Map Seeks to Crack Neuronal Code

by Madolyn Bowman Rogers on 25 Feb 2013

Comment

The following was adapted from a news story that originally appeared on the Alzheimer Research Forum.

Research

Zebrafish Illuminate a New Tool to Study Pain Signaling

Small molecule screen identifies light-activated agonist for TRPA1 channel

by Stephani Sutherland on 13 Feb 2013

Comment

Optical research tools give investigators a powerful way to study sensory physiology, including pain signaling, and a new light-activated molecule has just expanded the toolbox. The compound, dubbed optovin…

Research

Feel-Good C Fibers

Researchers ID sensory neurons that respond to pleasant stroking

by Megan Talkington on 4 Feb 2013

Comment

A paper in the January 31 Nature reports the discovery of a population of sensory neurons that specifically responds to massage-like stroking in mice. The work, from David Anderson…

Research

Inflammatory Hypersensitivity Requires Nuclear Calcium Signaling in Spinal Neurons

Study outlines a path from afferent input, to regulation of gene expression, to synaptic remodeling

by Stephani Sutherland on 1 Feb 2013

Comment

Peripheral inflammation sets off a cascade of neuronal activity that leads to chronic pain hypersensitivity, but the exact cellular and molecular signaling processes involved are unclear. Now, new work…

Research

Found: A Home for Itch in Peripheral Neurons

In mice, some nociceptors specialize in the sensation of itch

by Megan Talkington on 18 Jan 2013

Itch and pain are enigmatically intertwined. Pain can block the sensation of itch, for example, and pain-quelling opioids can unleash itchiness. Neurological diseases including shingles, peripheral neuropathy, and stroke can…

Research

A New Pathway for Paradoxical Pain

Morphine hyperalgesia depends on neuron-microglia network separate from tolerance or analgesia pathways

by Stephani Sutherland on 17 Jan 2013

While still held up as the “gold standard” for treating chronic and post-operative pain, morphine and other opiate drugs come with serious side effects. Tolerance and drug-induced hyperalgesia top…

Research

What’s Up With PKMζ?

Two recent papers overturn dogma on role of the enzyme in memory—here, Price and Ghosh consider what that means for pain

By Ted Price and Sourav Ghosh on 16 Jan 2013

Comment

The atypical protein kinase C (aPKC), PKMζ (PKMzeta), has garnered a great deal of attention in neurobiology due to its potential role as a molecular determinant of long-term synaptic…

Research

Catching Up With Award-Winning Young Investigators: Giandomenico Iannetti

University College London researcher took home Patrick D. Wall Young Investigator Award for Basic Science from IASP

by PRF Editors on 11 Jan 2013

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Editors’ Note: The PRF put questions to the three young investigators honored with awards at the International Association for the Study of Pain’s 14th World Congress on Pain in…

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Catching Up With Award-Winning Young Investigators: Steven George

University of Florida researcher received Ulf Lindblom Young Investigator Award for Clinical Science from IASP

by PRF Editors on 10 Jan 2013

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Editors’ Note: The PRF put a few questions to the three young investigators honored with awards at the International Association for the Study of Pain’s 14th World Congress on…

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Young Investigators Collect Awards in Milan

Catching up with David Seminowicz, one of trio honored at 14th World Congress on Pain

by PRF Editors on 9 Jan 2013

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At the 14th World Congress on Pain in Milan, Italy, 27-31 August 2012, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) presented its annual awards to honor the…

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Peering at the Brain for Clues to Treatment Response

Imaging studies suggest potential biomarkers for interindividual variability in placebo response and opioid analgesia

by Megan Stephan on 8 Jan 2013

Comment

People vary markedly in their ability to tolerate and control pain. This underlying variability, which is reflected in differing behavioral responses to pain, to placebo, and to analgesic drugs,…

Research

Personalizing Pain Medicine

Two studies provide hope for individualized treatment of rare—and common—diseases

by Stephani Sutherland on 17 Dec 2012

Comment

If personalized medicine is the next wave in cutting-edge healthcare, the swell gained momentum in the pain field last month with two studies of rare genetic sensory diseases. The…

Research

Waste Not, Want Not—Making Human Neurons From Urine

A simple urine sample could provide neural progenitor cells to model disease or even to transplant back into donors

by Gwyneth Dickey Zakaib on 17 Dec 2012

Comment

This news story originally appeared on the Alzheimer Research Forum.

Research

Filling the Pain Drug Pipeline

From small molecules to gene therapy, speakers at the Pain Therapeutics Summit in San Jose offer up diverse new approaches

by Megan Talkington on 11 Dec 2012

The 6th Annual Pain Therapeutics Summit, held 3-4 October 2012 in San Jose, California, US, and organized by Arrowhead Publishers and Conferences, brought together approximately 100 researchers from industry…

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New Optogenetic System Shines a Light on Pain-Sensing Neurons

Mouse with light-activated nociceptors debuts at Neuroscience 2012 in New Orleans

by Stephani Sutherland on 30 Nov 2012

To study pain in animals, researchers can injure a nerve or present a noxious stimulus to a rat or a mouse, and see how the creature responds. But animal…

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PKMζ in Pain Processing: A Player in the Maintenance of Plasticity

News From Milan and the IASP 2012 World Congress on Pain

by Mark Henry Pitcher on 16 Nov 2012

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Mark Henry Pitcher is a postdoctoral fellow at McGill’s Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain. He sends this report on the workshop session “Protein Kinase M-ζ (PKMζ) Involvement…

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