The year 2020 was an unspeakably difficult one for people throughout the world, as the COVID-19 pandemic cost over 1.6 million lives, devastated economies and businesses, and disrupted so many aspects of daily life. Pain researchers felt these disruptions, too, with careers interrupted, labs shutting down, and PhD defenses taking place via video conference (see PRF related news story). Yet even with these immense challenges, there was still excellent progress in pain research this year – a testament to the strength of the field and investigators’ commitment to generating new knowledge and translating those findings into safe and effective treatments for people with chronic pain.
A look back at our coverage over the past year reveals that the most popular PRF news story of 2020 covered a successful clinical trial of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for fibromyalgia, an approach that reduced pain from movement and fatigue in trial participants. Coming in second was our coverage of two studies strengthening the argument for a significant contribution of the parabrachial nucleus to pain.
Among the Top 5 Papers of the Week in 2020, a study from the University of Cincinnati’s Steve Davidson and colleagues on a new assay to assess thermal pain tolerance reached the number one spot. Coming in at number two was a paper, courtesy of Philippe Séguéla and colleagues at McGill University, on the differential coding of itch and pain by peripheral afferents (see PRF related news).
Finally, PRF directed much of its attention this year to providing virtual education via our seminar series, in order to help keep the pain research community connected during the pandemic and provide educational opportunities for pain investigators throughout the world. Of the 27 seminars we hosted in 2020, the most popular was “Pain and the Brain: The Impact and Influence of Descending Modulatory Controls,” presented by King’s College London’s Kirsty Bannister. “Human Spinal Cord Neuroimaging of Chronic Pain and Opioid Use,” presented by Duke University’s Katherine Martucci, took the second spot.
Take a look below at the full Top Five lists. As we all look forward to a better year ahead, stay tuned for more PRF coverage of the best in pain research in 2021.
The Top 5 PRF News Stories of 2020
1. A New Clinical Trial Shows Clear Benefits of TENS for Fibromyalgia ─ Finally!(27 Jan 2020)
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation reduces pain from movement and fatigue
2. The Parabrachial Nucleus Takes the Pain Limelight (13 Aug 2020)
Two recent studies build the case for a crucial role of this brainstem structure in pain
3. Calls to Rename “Pain Catastrophizing” Backed by International Patient-Researcher Partnership (17 Sep 2020)
An ongoing initiative is investigating different perspectives on what has become a controversial term, aiming to identify the most suitable replacement
4. Nav1.7 Channels in DRG Neurons: Where Are They and How Do They Get There? (21 Jan 2020)
A new study provides the first live visualization, with single-molecule resolution, of Nav1.7 distribution and trafficking along primary afferents, from the soma to the distal axon
5. Analgesia From General Anesthetics: A “Pain-Off” Switch in the Central Amygdala (22 Jul 2020)
Isoflurane and ketamine engage a pain-suppression circuit controlled by GABAergic neurons in the CeA
The Top 5 PRF Papers of the Week of 2020
1. The operant plantar thermal assay: A novel device for assessing thermal pain tolerance in mice.
Reker AN, Chen S, Etter K, Burger T, Caudill M, Davidson S
eNeuro. 2020 Feb 13.
2. Differential coding of itch and pain by a subpopulation of primary afferent neurons.
Sharif B, Ase AR, Ribeiro-da-Silva A, Séguéla P
Neuron. 2020 Apr 07.
Yu X, Liu H, Hamel KA, Morvan MG, Yu S, Leff J, Guan Z, Braz JM, Basbaum AI
Nat Commun. 2020 Jan 14; 11(1):264.
4. TACAN is an ion channel involved in sensing mechanical pain.
Beaulieu-Laroche L, Christin M, Donoghue A, Agosti F, Yousefpour N, Petitjean H, Davidova A, Stanton C, Khan U, Dietz C, Faure E, Fatima T, Macpherson A, Mouchbahani-Constance S, G Bisson D, Haglund L, Ouellet JA, Stone LS, Samson J, Smith M-J, et al.
Cell. 2020 Feb 17.
Raja SN, Carr DB, Cohen M, Finnerup NB, Flor H, Gibson S, Keefe FJ, Mogil JS, Ringkamp M, Sluka KA, Song X-J, Stevens B, Sullivan MD, Tutelman PR, Ushida T, Vader K
Pain. 2020 May 23.
The Top 5 PRF virtual seminars of 2020 (based on live attendees + views of the recording)
1. Pain and the Brain: The Impact and Influence of Descending Modulatory Controls (8 Sep 2020)
Presented by Kirsty Bannister, PhD, King’s College London, UK.
2. Human Spinal Cord Neuroimaging of Chronic Pain and Opioid Use (22 Jun 2020)
Presented by Katherine Martucci, PhD, Duke University, US.
3. Pathomechanisms of Focal Nerve Injuries: Lessons From Entrapment Neuropathies as Human Model Systems (29 Jun 2020)
Presented by Annina Schmid, PhD, Oxford University, UK.
4. Spinal Cord Circuitry of Pain and Itch (8 Jun 2020)
Co-presented by Kieran Boyle, PhD, University of Glasgow, UK, and Tyler Nelson, PhD candidate, University of Pittsburgh, US.
5. Opioids and Pain Persistence: A Role for Neuroimmune Mechanisms (18 May 2020)
Presented by Peter Grace, PhD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, US.
Image credit: kovaleff/123RF Stock Photo.
