News Archive

In the Spotlight: A Crisis in Pain Care

Documentary film LIFE Before Death premieres worldwide

by Megan Talkington on 31 Jan 2012

Alongside the scientific search for pain mechanisms and the clinical quest for better treatments lies a problem of policy: Does care reach the patients who need it? A team…

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Metabolomics Uncovers a New Driver for Neuropathic Pain

A product of sphingomyelin breakdown fuels allodynia in rats

by Megan Talkington on 30 Jan 2012

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In the hunt for the molecular underpinnings of pain, there are plenty of suspects to investigate. There are DNA sequences, the transcripts produced from them, and the proteins they…

Research

Erasing the Spinal Memory of Pain?

High-dose opioid reverses synaptic potentiation in the spinal cord in rats

by Megan Talkington on 16 Jan 2012

A single, high dose of opioids might be able to cut off chronic pain at the roots. That is the hope offered by a study published in the January…

Research

News Brief: Lights, Camera, Assay

Researchers become screen stars to instruct via video

by Megan Talkington on 13 Jan 2012

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Last month, a team of researchers investigating infant pain published a description of their method for monitoring babies’ brain activity by electroencephalography (EEG). The PRF covered their work in…

Research

Modeling How Environment, Exercise, and Sleep Affect Pain

Coverage of poster presentations at Neuroscience 2011

by Pat McCaffrey on 10 Jan 2012

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Adverse life events, stress, and lack of sleep can increase the intensity of felt pain and diminish the ability of people to function with chronic pain, while interventions that…

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Sex and the Society for Neuroscience

Taking account of sex differences at Neuroscience 2011

by Pat McCaffrey on 10 Jan 2012

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At the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held November 12-16 in Washington, DC, sex differences, long a concern of pain researchers, were a hot topic, featured in…

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TRPA1 Channel Variants Reveal Clues to Thermal Sensitivity

Some like it hot

by Megan Talkington on 5 Jan 2012

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What temperatures have you touched today? Did you brush snow off your boots, or grip a cup of hot coffee? Next time you notice chill or warmth, give a…

Research

Naked Mole Rats Reveal Mechanism of Pain Resistance

Protons block sodium channel and inhibit firing of acid-sensing neurons

by Megan Talkington on 18 Dec 2011

The African naked mole rat does not look like the toughest critter. It comes clothed in pale, wrinkled, hairless skin and is nearly blind. Yet it thrives in extreme…

Research

Navigating TRP Channels: New Ways to Open the Locks

An acetaminophen metabolite targets TRPA1, a lipid latches onto TRPV1

by Megan Talkington on 14 Dec 2011

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are familiar players in pain, and we know a lot about how temperature and irritants like capsaicin and mustard oil activate the channels and…

Research

FLAT-tening Pain

Blocking transporter boosts endocannabinoid levels in mice

by Megan Talkington on 1 Dec 2011

Endocannabinoids are some of the body’s chief analgesic armaments. The lipid mediators—among them, anandamide (also called N-arachidonoylethanolamide, AEA)—are produced by neurons and released into synapses, where they act on…

Research

OPPERA Study Publishes Its Libretto

Prospective study of orofacial pain releases first results

by Megan Talkington on 21 Nov 2011

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The long-awaited initial findings from the largest and most comprehensive prospective study to date of chronic pain are shedding light on the common condition of jaw pain.

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Lone Star Snakes Reveal Unexpected Role for Acid-Sensing Channels in Pain

Toxin in Texas coral snake venom activates ASIC1

by Megan Talkington on 18 Nov 2011

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Plants like chili peppers and wasabi elicit pungent, almost painful flavors with capsaicin and mustard oil, which have given researchers powerful tools for probing pain-sensing pathways. For other painful…

Research

The Life and Times of the Human Brain Transcriptome

by Michele Solis (Schizophrenia Research Forum) on 31 Oct 2011

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Adapted from a news story that originally appeared on the Schizophrenia Research Forum.

Research

Sex and Drugs and Stress and Genetic Variation: Very Complicated Indeed

Vasopressin signaling controls pain—sometimes

by Megan Talkington on 28 Oct 2011

A complex interplay of sex, genotype, and emotional state can determine how people process pain and respond to an analgesic. That is the conclusion of a new investigation into…

Research

Hot on the Heels of Opioid Side Effects

Dedicated receptor separates the itch from the analgesia

by Megan Talkington on 21 Oct 2011

Morphine and related opioids may be the most powerful painkillers we have, but their effectiveness comes at a heavy cost: Side effects range from addiction and sedation to constipation…

Research

Epigenetic Downregulation of GABA Signaling Perpetuates Pain

Histone deacetylation diminishes GAD65 expression in brainstem

by Megan Talkington on 17 Oct 2011

Experience can produce lasting changes in gene expression via the modification of chromatin structure, in a mechanism known as epigenetic regulation. So how does the experience of pain—surely one…

Research

EFIC VII: Taking Aim at Cancer and Bone Pain

News from the Pain in Europe Congress

by Pat McCaffrey on 12 Oct 2011

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From 21-24 September, Hamburg, Germany, hosted the largest-yet Pain in Europe meeting, drawing 4,000 pain researchers and clinicians for the European Federation of IASP Chapters (EFIC) congress. Being a…

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Endocannabinoids Pitch In for Placebo Effect

NSAID-induced placebo response mediated by CB1 receptors

by Megan Talkington on 10 Oct 2011

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Placebos can be powerful pain medicine. In many cases, placebos activate endogenous opioid pathways, and their pain-relieving effects can be blocked by opioid receptor inhibitors. Now there is evidence…

Research

COX-2 Inhibitors Give Endocannabinoids a Lift

Familiar drugs block breakdown of endogenous pain fighters

by Megan Talkington on 3 Oct 2011

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Researchers have discovered a class of drugs that have the potential to boost levels of endocannabinoids, the body’s own pain-relieving compounds, specifically at sites of inflammation. The lead compounds…

Research

Make Way for Mitochondria

Tiny organelles may be big contributors to pain

by Megan Talkington on 28 Sep 2011

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Malfunctioning mitochondria are notorious culprits in a variety of neurological diseases.

Research

Mice Demystify a Perplexing Pain

Vulvodynia model shows yeast infection causes lasting sensitivity

by Megan Talkington on 26 Sep 2011

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For a woman with vulvodynia, everyday activities—sitting, walking, even standing—can evoke burning or knife-like pain. This common condition involves chronic pain in the vulva, especially the vaginal opening, which…

Research

A Sensitive Time in Development

Pain-specific brain activity arrives just before birth

by Megan Talkington on 19 Sep 2011

A litany of milestones—the first heartbeat of a fetus, the first movements, and finally, birth—mark the early development of a human being. And, somewhere along the way, comes the…

Research

“Funny” Current Is No Joke

Results pinpoint ion channel HCN2 as a potential instigator of neuropathic pain

by Megan Talkington on 12 Sep 2011

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Overactivity of primary sensory neurons is a hallmark of neuropathic pain, and a collection of ion channels known as hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels appears to help propel that…

Research

Micromanaging Pain?

MicroRNA regulates calcium channel Cav1.2 and relieves pain

by Megan Talkington on 9 Sep 2011

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What are the root causes of pain? The search often ends at ion channels and other regulators of neuron function. But another question lies just beyond: What regulates the…

Research

Kappa Opioid Receptors: Rekindling the Flame

Discoveries renew interest in targeting CNS kappa receptors to relieve pain

by Megan Talkington on 12 Aug 2011

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For over 30 years, neurobiologists have flirted with kappa opioid receptors as possible targets for pain treatment in the central nervous system (CNS; Pasternak, 1980). That relationship, however, hasn’t…

Research

Arterial Spin Labeling Takes On Low Back Pain

Study advances search for neural correlates of chronic pain

by Megan Talkington on 10 Aug 2011

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A physiologic measure of chronic pain is the fervent hope of many researchers, but achieving such a “biomarker” requires two intertwined advances: a measurement technique that is sensitive to…

Research

Blood-Seeking Bats Use TRPV1 Variant to Detect Dinner

Alternative splicing tunes channel responsiveness

by Megan Talkington on 8 Aug 2011

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Vampire bats and a few species of snakes possess the remarkable ability to detect infrared thermal radiation emanating from warm-blooded prey. In a paper published in the August 4…

Research

TMJ Association Scientific Symposium: The Puzzle of Comorbid Chronic Pain

Researchers propose a new approach to overlapping pain conditions

by Pat McCaffrey on 8 Aug 2011

At a recent scientific symposium sponsored by the Temporomandibular Joint Association (TMJA), researchers and patient advocates outlined an agenda for a dramatic change in how a set of common…

Conferences

TRPs Through Time and Space

Developmental trajectory, tissue specificity of TRPV1, TRPA1 reveal new complexity of nociceptors

by Megan Talkington on 2 Aug 2011

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Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels in sensory neurons serve as first responders to painful stimuli, and when overactive, can drive pathological pain. Two recent studies make headway in understanding…

Research

Asthma Study Dissects Placebo Effects

Sham treatments alleviate patient-reported symptoms while leaving lung function untouched

by Megan Talkington and Pat McCaffrey on 26 Jul 2011

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Patients with asthma could not tell the difference between placebo treatments and bona fide inhalers, even though an objective measure of lung capacity clearly distinguished active from inactive regimens.…

Research

A Pain Protection Plan in the CNS?

Descending modulation shapes susceptibility to neuropathic pain in rats

by Megan Talkington on 26 Jul 2011

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Why does injury or surgery in some people lead to lasting pain, while in others the wound heals and the pain resolves along with it? A new study takes…

Research

Zinc Acts on NMDA Receptors to Relieve Pain

NR2A subunit takes role in pain processing

by Megan Talkington on 19 Jul 2011

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The spinal cord and brain are brimming with zinc. But what is it doing there? Researchers working to pick apart the physiological roles of zinc in the central nervous…

Research

News Brief: Sodium Channel Structure Solved

by Megan Talkington on 19 Jul 2011

Linchpins of pain transmission, voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels generate action potentials in neurons. They are the sites of action of local anesthetics, and popular targets for new analgesic drug…

Research

Unexpected Role for Laminin in Skin Sensation

Extracellular matrix puts the brakes on mechanosensitive neurons

by Megan Talkington on 18 Jul 2011

In the skin, sensory neurons are in charge of detecting external stimuli, but they do not go it alone. A new line of research shows that skin cells, and…

Research

Sunburn Pain? Check Your Chemokines

Modeling UV skin damage in people uncovers a novel target for pain

by Megan Talkington on 12 Jul 2011

A novel translational study has revealed the chemokine CXCL5 as an important mediator of the inflammatory pain that occurs after sunburn. In a role reversal for humans and animal…

Research

Lancet Review: Most Chronic Pain Treatments Don’t Work

Article describes evidence gaps affecting clinical practice

by Megan Talkington on 7 Jul 2011

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Three reviews published June 25 in The Lancet take a tour across the clinical spectrum of pain and strategies for care of cancer pain; acute postoperative pain; and chronic,…

Research

Dealing With Data Overload? A New Tool Automates Meta-analysis of fMRI Studies

A conversation with NeuroSynth developer Tal Yarkoni

by Megan Talkington on 5 Jul 2011

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Faced with a deluge of data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, what are researchers to do? To deal with the problem, Tal Yarkoni, a postdoctoral fellow in…

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IOM Report Calls for Cultural Shift in Pain Treatment, Prevention, Research

Recommends stronger research leadership, more resources from NIH

by Pat McCaffrey on 1 Jul 2011

A new report on pain in the United States estimates that 119 million Americans, or one-third of the population, suffer from chronic pain, which costs the country on the…

Research

Gateways to Therapy?

A trio of ion channels showing potential as targets for new analgesics

by Megan Talkington on 1 Jul 2011

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The list of molecular suspects in chronic pain is chock full of ion channels. Throughout pain pathways, these proteins nestle in cell membranes and regulate the influx of positively…

Research

A New Chapter for Sodium Channels

A conversation with neurologist and channelopathy expert Stephen Waxman

by Megan Talkington on 30 Jun 2011

The PRF caught up with Stephen Waxman, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut, for a Q&A about his work…

People

Research

Nav1.7 Mutations Move Into the Mainstream

Mutations in SCN9A linked to idiopathic small fiber neuropathy

by Megan Talkington on 25 Jun 2011

A new study shows that mutations in SCN9A, the gene encoding the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.7, lie behind some cases of idiopathic small fiber neuropathy (I-SFN), a relatively common…

Research

GWAS Uncovers Three New Variants Tied to Migraine

Association study reveals common genetic differences that contribute to headache

by Megan Talkington on 17 Jun 2011

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Research

Curbing a Calcium Channel

A peptide inhibitor of CaV2.2–CRMP-2 interaction shows analgesic activity

by Megan Talkington on 13 Jun 2011

The N-type voltage-gated calcium channel (CaV2.2) plays crucial roles in pain transmission, making it a tantalizing therapeutic target. Blocking the channel directly, however, produces profound side effects. Last week,…

Research

Where Are Glia Going?

Studies in animals implicate microglia and astrocytes in chronic pain. But attempts to learn what those cells do in humans—and to stymie them to stop pain—have so far come up dry. What is the future for glia-targeted pain therapy?

by Megan Talkington on 9 Jun 2011

When pain researchers ponder cells in the central nervous system that contribute to chronic pain, their thoughts generally turn to just one culprit: neurons. But studies over the last…

Research

Natural Product Kills Pain, But How?

by Megan Talkington on 6 Jun 2011

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Traditional Chinese, Indian, and Thai medicine uses the tropical plant Tabernaemontana divaricata (crepe jasmine) to alleviate fever and pain. The basis for that pain-relieving power has been a riddle,…

Research

Power in Numbers

Meta-analysis of microarray studies reveals similarities and differences among pain models

by Megan Talkington on 6 Jun 2011

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Research

News Brief: An Express Route From Fibroblasts to Neurons

by Megan Talkington on 26 May 2011

Research

Feel the Heat? Thank TRPM3

A novel heat-sensing channel identified in nociceptors

by Megan Talkington on 25 May 2011

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For more than a decade, members of the vanilloid subfamily of transient receptor potential channels (the TRPVs) have been known to transduce heat. Now, a distant relative joins them…

Research

Rodent, Heal Thyself

Study suggests rats self-medicate with a CB2 agonist to relieve pain

by Megan Talkington on 19 May 2011

In animal models, measuring responses to evoked pain is relatively straightforward, but it is a formidable challenge to figure out whether an animal is in pain, and whether an…

Drug Development

Research

Crosstalk among C. elegans sensory neurons regulates nociceptor responses

by Megan Talkington on 16 May 2011

Nociceptors face a constant stream of environmental stimuli, much of which they ignore until an extreme of heat or cold, or an injury, triggers them to send signals to…

Research

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