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Dias P, Tavares I, Fonseca S, Pozza DH. Outcomes of a QST Protocol in Healthy Subjects and Chronic Pain Patients: A Controlled Clinical Trial. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11041023. [PMID: 37189640 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11041023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic pain is an important cause of disability with a high burden to society. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is a noninvasive multimodal method used to discriminate the function of nerve fibers. The aim of this study is to propose a new, reproducible, and less time-consuming thermal QST protocol to help characterize and monitor pain. Additionally, this study also compared QST outcomes between healthy and chronic pain subjects. Forty healthy young/adult medical students and fifty adult/elderly chronic pain patients were evaluated in individual sessions including pain history, followed by QST assessments divided into three proposed tests: pain threshold, suprathreshold, and tonic pain. In the chronic pain group, a significantly higher pain threshold (hypoesthesia) and a higher pain sensibility (hyperalgesia) were demonstrated at threshold temperature when compared to healthy participants. The sensitivity to the suprathreshold and tonic stimulus did not prove to be significantly different between both groups. The main results demonstrated that the heat threshold QST tests can be helpful in evaluating hypoesthesia and that the sensitivity threshold temperature test can demonstrate hyperalgesia in individuals with chronic pain. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the importance of using tools such as QST as a complement to detect changes in several pain dimensions.
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Choi JC, Park HJ, Park JA, Kang DR, Choi YS, Choi S, Lee HG, Choi JH, Choi IH, Yoon MW, Lee JM, Kim J. The increased analgesic efficacy of cold therapy after an unsuccessful analgesic experience is associated with inferior parietal lobule activation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14687. [PMID: 36038625 PMCID: PMC9424269 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18181-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior experiences of successful and failed treatments are known to influence the efficacy of a newly applied treatment. However, whether that carry-over effect applies to non-pharmacological treatments is unknown. This study investigated how a failed treatment history with placebo analgesic cream affected the therapeutic outcomes of cold-pack treatment. The neural correlates underlying those effects were also explored using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The effect of the placebo analgesic cream was induced using placebo conditioning with small (44.5 °C to 43.7 °C, negative experience) and large (44.5 °C to 40.0 °C, positive experience) thermal stimuli changes. After the placebo conditioning, brain responses and self-reported evaluations of the effect of subsequent treatment with a cold-pack were contrasted between the two groups. The negative experience group reported less pain and lower anxiety scores in the cold-pack condition than the positive experience group and exhibited significantly greater activation in the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL), which is known to be involved in pain relief. These findings suggest that an unsatisfying experience with an initial pain-relief treatment could increase the expectations for the complementary treatment outcome and improve the analgesic effect of the subsequent treatment. The IPL could be associated with this expectation-induced pain relief process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Chan Choi
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, 26426, Republic of Korea.,Cham Brain Health Institute, 08807, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hae-Jeong Park
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, BrainKorea21Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 3722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong A Park
- Alzza Health Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dae Ryong Kang
- Department of Precision Medicine & Biostatistics, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, 26426, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Seok Choi
- Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering, Kwangwoon University, Seoul, 01897, Republic of Korea
| | - SoHyun Choi
- Department of Precision Medicine & Biostatistics, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, 26426, Republic of Korea
| | - Hong Gyu Lee
- Department of Radiology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, 26426, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun-Ho Choi
- Department of Practical Arts Education, Chinju National University of Education, Jinju-si, 52673, Republic of Korea
| | - In-Ho Choi
- Department of Architectural Design, Kaywon University of Art and Design, Uiwang-si, 16038, Republic of Korea
| | - Min Woo Yoon
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, 26426, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Min Lee
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 4763, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinhee Kim
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, 2841, Republic of Korea.
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Barraza-Sandoval G, Casanova-Mollá J, Valls-Solé J. Neurophysiological assessment of painful neuropathies. Expert Rev Neurother 2014; 12:1297-309; quiz 1310. [DOI: 10.1586/ern.12.93] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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Bakkers M, Faber CG, Peters MJH, Reulen JPH, Franssen H, Fischer TZ, Merkies ISJ. Temperature threshold testing: a systematic review. J Peripher Nerv Syst 2013; 18:7-18. [PMID: 23521638 DOI: 10.1111/jns5.12001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The diagnosis of small fiber neuropathy (SFN) has been recently defined as typical symptoms due to small nerve fiber dysfunction accompanied by reduced intra-epidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) or abnormal temperature threshold testing (TTT). Guidelines have been published for the assessment of IENFD. However, international guidelines for TTT are lacking. This paper presents a systematic literature review on reported TTT methods and provides recommendations for its future use in studies evaluating patients. A total of 164 papers fulfilled pre-defined requirements and were selected for review. Over 15 types of instruments are currently being used with a variety of methodological approaches for location, stimulus application, and sensation qualities examined. Consensus is needed to standardize the use of TTT as a diagnostic and follow-up tool in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayienne Bakkers
- Department of Neurology Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Medici C, Barraza G, Castillo CD, Morales M, Schestatsky P, Casanova-Mollà J, Valls-Sole J. Disturbed sensory perception of changes in thermoalgesic stimuli in patients with small fiber neuropathies. Pain 2013; 154:2100-2107. [PMID: 23806653 DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2013.06.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2013] [Revised: 06/04/2013] [Accepted: 06/19/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The assessment of functional deficits in small fibre neuropathies (SFN) requires using ancillary tests other than conventional neurophysiological techniques. One of the tests with most widespread use is thermal threshold determination, as part of quantitative sensory testing. Thermal thresholds typically reflect one point in the whole subjective experience elicited by a thermal stimulus. We reasoned that more information could be obtained by analyzing the subjective description of the ongoing sensation elicited by slow temperature changes (dynamic thermal testing, DTT). Twenty SFN patients and 20 healthy subjects were requested to describe, by using an electronic visual analog scale system, the sensation perceived when the temperature of a thermode was made to slowly change according to a predetermined pattern. The thermode was attached to the left ventral forearm or the distal third of the left leg and the stimulus was either a monophasic heat or cold stimuli that reached 120% of pain threshold and reversed to get back to baseline at a rate of 0.5 °C/s. Abnormalities seen in patients in comparison to healthy subjects were: (1) delayed perception of temperature changes, both at onset and at reversal, (2) longer duration of pain perception at peak temperature, and (3) absence of an overshoot sensation after reversal, ie, a transient perception of the opposite sensation before the temperature reached again baseline. The use of DTT increases the yield of thermal testing for clinical and physiological studies. It adds information that can be discriminant between healthy subjects and SFN patients and shows physiological details about the process of activation and inactivation of temperature receptors that may be abnormal in SFN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conrado Medici
- Department of Neurology, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain Institut d'Investigació Augustí Pi i Sunyer, Facultat de Medicina, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Neurology Service, EMG Unit, Hospital de Clinicas, Porto Alegre, Brazil Neurology Service, Hospital Joan XXIII, Tarragona, Spain
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Schestatsky P, Dall-Agnol L, Gheller L, Stefani LC, Sanches PRS, de Souza IC, Torres IL, Caumo W. Pain-autonomic interaction after work-induced sleep restriction. Eur J Neurol 2012; 20:638-46. [PMID: 23083328 DOI: 10.1111/ene.12011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2012] [Accepted: 09/12/2012] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Poor sleep is commonly associated with alterations in pain perception. However, there is a lack of studies that address work-associated sleep restriction (SR) and changes in non-nociceptive perception and autonomic responses after work-induced SR. METHODS This study was performed with 19 medical students after a normal-sleep night (NS phase) and after a night shift at the local emergency room (SR phase). We performed clinical assessment, quantitative sensory testing for electrical and temperature sensation, RR interval analysis, and recorded sudomotor skin responses (SSRs). RESULTS The total mean duration of sleep was 436 ± 18 min in the NS group and 120 ± 28 min in the SR group (P<0.001). The anxiety scores were higher following the SR phase compared with those after the NS phase (P<0.01). After SR, there was a decrease in heat-pain threshold, but neither warm nor electrical thresholds were affected. Following SR, subjects showed higher SSR amplitudes and an increased number of double responses at an interstimulus interval of 2 s. We also observed a moderate inverse correlation between heat-pain thresholds and SSR amplitude (r= -0.46; P<0.01). However, there was no correlation between anxiety scores and SSR parameters. CONCLUSIONS The effects of SR in the context of work stress on pain are specific and appear unrelated to general changes in sensory perception. Hyperalgesia was associated with abnormal autonomic responses, but not with increased anxiety, which suggests an association between the nociceptive and autonomic nervous systems that is independent of the emotional state.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Schestatsky
- Department of Neurology, EMG Unit from Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
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Stefani LC, Torres ILDS, de Souza ICC, Rozisky JR, Fregni F, Caumo W. BDNF as an effect modifier for gender effects on pain thresholds in healthy subjects. Neurosci Lett 2012; 514:62-6. [PMID: 22395087 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.02.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2011] [Revised: 01/19/2012] [Accepted: 02/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BDNF is an important marker of neuronal plasticity. It has also been associated with pain processing. Increased BDNF levels are observed in chronic pain syndromes. In order to understand the role of BDNF associated with other factors such as gender on experimental pain we aimed to determine whether experimental heat or pressure pain threshold is correlated with brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level, gender and age. Heat pain threshold and pressure pain threshold were measured in 49 healthy volunteers (27 females). The multivariate linear regression models (on heat and pressure pain thresholds) revealed a significant effect of gender (p=0.001 for both models), serum BDNF (p<0.004 for both models) and interaction between BDNF and gender (<0.001 for both models). In fact, when adjusting for BDNF levels and age, heat and pressure pain thresholds were significantly reduced in women as compared to men (p<0.001 for both models). These effects were not observed when gender was analyzed alone. These finding suggests that experimental heat and pressure pain threshold is gender-related and BDNF dependent. In fact BDNF has a facilitatory effect on pain threshold in females but has an opposite effect in males; supporting the notion that BDNF is an effect modifier of the gender effects on pain threshold in healthy subjects.
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Schestatsky P, Stefani LC, Sanches PR, Silva Júnior DPD, Torres ILS, Dall-Agnol L, Balbinot LF, Caumo W. Validation of a Brazilian quantitative sensory testing (QST) device for the diagnosis of small fiber neuropathies. ARQUIVOS DE NEURO-PSIQUIATRIA 2011; 69:943-8. [DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x2011000700019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2011] [Accepted: 07/25/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is defined as the determination of thresholds for sensory perception under controlled stimulus. Our aim was to validate a new QST device for Brazilian sample. In 20 healthy adults, thermoalgesic thresholds were assessed using a QST prototype (Heat Pain Stimulator-1.1.10; Brazil). A 30 × 30 mm² thermode with a 1°C/s stimulus change rate were applied. Thresholds of three consecutive stimuli were averaged in two different sessions separated by at least two weeks. Additionally long thermal heat pain stimulus was performed. To evaluate the consistency of our method we also analyzed 11 patients with small fiber neuropathy. Results showed good reproducibility of thermal perception thresholds in normal individuals and plausible abnormal thresholds in patients. We conclude that our QST device is reliable when analyzing the nociceptive pathway in controls and patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Wolnei Caumo
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; UFRGS; UFRGS, Brazil
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Schestatsky P, Lladó-Carbó E, Casanova-Molla J, Álvarez-Blanco S, Valls-Solé J. Small fibre function in patients with meralgia paresthetica ☆. Pain 2008; 139:342-348. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2008.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2007] [Revised: 04/27/2008] [Accepted: 05/01/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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