News Archive

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

Comment

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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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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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

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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

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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

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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…

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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

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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…

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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

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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

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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

Comment

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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Trial Tribulations: The Challenges of Testing New Pain Treatments

Speakers at the Pain Therapeutics Summit in San Jose take on design and conduct of analgesic trials

by Megan Talkington on 13 Nov 2012

Comment

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

Conferences

Drug Development

Research

Brain White Matter Structure May Predict Chronic Pain Vulnerability

Clues about transition process emerge at Neuroscience 2012 gathering in New Orleans

by Stephani Sutherland on 6 Nov 2012

Every year, millions of people suffer from acute back pain. For some people, the pain persists for weeks (subacute pain) and then resolves, while others go on to develop…

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Dispatches from Milan: Satellite Symposia

IASP Special Interest Group-sponsored meetings put a spotlight on a wide assortment of pain topics

by PRF Editors on 22 Oct 2012

On August 26, 2012, pain researchers and clinicians from around the world gathered in Milan, Italy for a number of International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Special…

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Epigenetic Targets in Pain

News from Milan and the IASP 2012 World Congress on Pain

by Neil Andrews on 11 Oct 2012

Comment

From August 27-31, pain researchers and clinicians from around the world gathered in Milan, Italy, for the 14th World Congress on Pain. With more than 7,700 attendees, the Congress…

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A Venomous Surprise: Deadly Black Mamba Makes Peptide Painkillers

Newly discovered “mambalgins” in African snake’s venom inhibit acid-sensing ion channels to induce analgesia

by Richard Saltus on 9 Oct 2012

The African black mamba’s bite has been called “the kiss of death”—and for good reason. It has been estimated that just 10 to 15 mg of venom from the…

Research

Large Meta-Analysis of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Finds Small Advantage Over Sham Treatment

Most of needling’s benefit attributed to placebo

by Megan Talkington on 2 Oct 2012

The value of acupuncture to treat chronic pain is a subject of fiery debate, fueled by the difficulty of rigorously determining whether the therapy works. To try to cut…

Research

NGF Update: Antibodies Get a Second Chance and Small Molecules Zero In on TrkA

News from Milan and the IASP 2012 World Congress on Pain

by Pat McCaffrey on 2 Oct 2012

Comment

From August 27-31, pain researchers and clinicians from around the world gathered in Milan, Italy, for the 14th World Congress on Pain. With more than 7,700 attendees, the Congress…

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Drug Development

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An Autoimmune Basis for Chronic Pain?

Antibodies to potassium channel complex implicated in pain

by Megan Talkington on 4 Sep 2012

In people, autoantibodies to neuronal voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC) complexes are associated with diverse neurologic disturbances, including seizures, encephalitis, and muscle cramps and twitching. The symptoms, many of which…

Research

A New Twist on Treating Chronic Bladder Pain

Pretzel-shaped lidocaine-releasing device shows promising results in women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome

by Sonya Jakawich on 16 Aug 2012

Targeted drug delivery offers the hope of teaching old dogs new tricks, repurposing existing treatments by deploying them to previously inaccessible sites of pain. In a paper published July…

Drug Development

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Database Offers Snapshot of Pain Clinical Trials

RReACTing to elusive outcomes data

by Megan Talkington on 8 Aug 2012

Comment

Researchers seeking clinical trial data on particular drugs or conditions can check online registries such as the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s ClinicalTrials.gov, but the information they find…

Drug Development

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Twins Reveal Where Genes Matter (Or Don’t) for Opioid Responses

Pharmacogenomic study quantifies genetic contribution to variability in analgesia and side effects

by Karl Gruber and Neil Andrews on 30 Jul 2012

Comment

People with pain differ in how they respond to opioids, both in the degree of analgesic relief they feel and in whether they experience aversive or reinforcing drug effects.…

Research

Israel Honors Marshall Devor for Research Achievements

2012 EMET Prize recognizes significant contribution to society

by Pat McCaffrey on 27 Jul 2012

Comment

Pain research pioneer and PRF science advisor Marshall Devor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, has been awarded the 2012 EMET Prize for Art, Science and Culture, an…

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