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Karst M. Overview: Chronic Pain and Cannabis-Based Medicines. PHARMACOPSYCHIATRY 2024; 57:152-159. [PMID: 38198809 DOI: 10.1055/a-2231-6630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Chronic pain is primarily conceptualized as a disease in its own right when it is associated with emotional distress and functional impairment. Pathophysiologically, dysfunction of the cortico-mesolimbic connectome is of major importance, with overlapping signals in the nociceptive and stress systems. The endocannabinoid system plays an important role in the central processing of nociceptive signals and regulates the central stress response. Clinically, there is moderate evidence that cannabis-based medicines (CBM) can contribute to a significant reduction in pain, especially the associated pain affect, and improvement in physical function and sleep quality in a proportion of patients with chronic pain. The analgesic effect appears to be largely independent of the cause of pain. In this context, CBM preferentially regulates stress-associated pain processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Karst
- Anesthesiology, Pain Clinic, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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Schmidt K, Schlitt F, Wiech K, Merz CJ, Kleine-Borgmann J, Wolf OT, Engler H, Forkmann K, Elsenbruch S, Bingel U. Hydrocortisone Differentially Affects Reinstatement of Pain-related Responses in Patients With Chronic Back Pain and Healthy Volunteers. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2024; 25:1082-1093. [PMID: 37956744 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2023.10.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Despite the crucial role of effective and sustained extinction of conditioned pain-related fear in cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches for chronic pain, experimental research on extinction memory retrieval in chronic pain remains scarce. In healthy populations, extinction efficacy of fear memory is affected by stress. Therefore, we investigated the effects of oral hydrocortisone administration on the reinstatement of pain-related associations in 57 patients with non-specific chronic back pain (CBP) and 59 healthy control (HC) participants in a differential pain-related conditioning paradigm within a placebo-controlled, randomized, and double-blind design. Participants' skin conductance responses indicate hydrocortisone-induced reinstatement effects in HCs but no observable reinstatement in HCs receiving placebo treatment. Interestingly, these effects were reversed in patients with CBP, that is, reinstatement responses were only observed in the placebo and not in the hydrocortisone group. Our findings corroborate previous evidence of stress-induced effects on extinction efficacy and reinstatement of fear memory in HCs, extending them into the pain context, and call for more research to clarify the role of stress in fear extinction and return of fear phenomena possibly contributing to treatment failure in chronic pain treatment. PERSPECTIVE: Opposing effects in HCs and patients with non-specific CBP may be associated with changes in the patients' stress systems. These findings could be of relevance to optimizing psychological, extinction-based treatment approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Schmidt
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Frederik Schlitt
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Katja Wiech
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Christian J Merz
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Julian Kleine-Borgmann
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Oliver T Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Harald Engler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Katarina Forkmann
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Sigrid Elsenbruch
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Ulrike Bingel
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
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Gao Q, Liu MQ, Li JX, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Zhu H. Sex differences in stress-induced hyperalgesia and its mechanisms. J Neurosci Res 2024; 102:e25266. [PMID: 38284853 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Chronic stress induces a variety of physiological and/or psychological abnormalities, including hyperalgesia. Researchers have discovered sex differences in the prevalence of stress-induced hyperalgesia (SIH) in recent years. Sex differences may be one of the reasons for the heterogeneity of susceptibility to stress-related diseases. In this review, the potential mechanisms of sex differences in SIH are discussed, such as hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis responses, regulation of sex hormones, and immune system responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Gao
- Department of Physiology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, P. R. China
| | - Mei-Qi Liu
- Department of Physiology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, P. R. China
| | - Jia-Xin Li
- Department of Physiology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, P. R. China
| | - Yi Wang
- Biotechnology Experimental Teaching Center, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, P. R. China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Physiology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, P. R. China
| | - Hui Zhu
- Department of Physiology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, P. R. China
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Wang D, Treede RD, Köhr G. Electrophysiological evidence that TRPM3 is a candidate in latent spinal sensitization of chronic low back pain. Neurosci Lett 2023; 816:137509. [PMID: 37802417 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Latent spinal sensitization is one key mechanism developing at the early stage of chronic low back pain (LBP). TRPM3-mediated calcium transients of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons are considered critical presynaptic signals involved in this latent sensitization. However, postsynaptic consequences in input laminae of the spinal cord have not been addressed so far. Here, by electrophysiological recordings in acute spinal cord slices from adult rats, we show that perfusion of the TRPM3 agonist pregnenolone sulfate (PregS) induced a significant increase in the frequency but not amplitude of spontaneous postsynaptic currents in lamina I and II neurons. This frequency increase started slowly during PregS perfusion but was reversible following washout. This result is consistent with a presynaptic action of the neurosteroid PregS, indicating the presynaptic expression of functional TRPM3 in the superficial dorsal horn of adult rats. Thus, PregS-induced TRPM3 activation enhances spinal synaptic strength, implying a mediating role of TRPM3 between neuroendocrine and nociceptive signaling, which might as well exist in chronic LBP primed by chronic stress that promotes the biosynthesis of PregS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China; Department of Neurophysiology, Mannheim Center for Translational Neurosciences, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Rolf-Detlef Treede
- Department of Neurophysiology, Mannheim Center for Translational Neurosciences, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Deptartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Georg Köhr
- Department of Neurophysiology, Mannheim Center for Translational Neurosciences, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Physiology of Neural Networks, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
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Zimney K, Van Bogaert W, Louw A. The Biology of Chronic Pain and Its Implications for Pain Neuroscience Education: State of the Art. J Clin Med 2023; 12:4199. [PMID: 37445234 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12134199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain is an individualized experience for the person suffering from chronic pain. Significant strides have been made in the last few decades in understanding various biological changes that coincide with chronic pain. This state-of-the-art overview looks at the current evidence related to the biology of chronic pain and the implications these findings have on the delivery of pain neuroscience education (PNE). The paper summarizes the various (epi)genetic, neural, endocrine, and immune factors discovered and explored in the scientific literature concerning chronic pain. Each of these biological factors has various implications for the content and delivery of PNE. We discuss the future directions these biological factors have for the clinical implementation of PNE by linking the importance of behavior change, optimizing the learning environment, and using an individualized multimodal treatment approach with PNE. In addition, future directions for research of PNE based on these biological factors are provided with importance placed on individualized patient-centered care and how PNE can be used with traditional modes of care and growing trends with other care methods. PNE was originally and continues to be rooted in understanding chronic pain biology and how that understanding can improve patient care and outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kory Zimney
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of South Dakota, 414 East Clark St., Vermillion, SD 57069, USA
| | - Wouter Van Bogaert
- Pain in Motion Research Group (PAIN), Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 121, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
- Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO), Leuvenseweg 38, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
- Interuniversity Centre for Health Economics Research (I-CHER), Department of Public Health (GEWE), Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Physical Medicine and Physiotherapy, University Hospital Brussels, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Adriaan Louw
- Evidence in Motion, 618 Broad Street, Suite B, Story City, IA 50248, USA
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