Scant data on seizure drugs for women's genital pain | Reuters
Although doctors sometimes prescribe anti-seizure drugs to treat chronic pain in the vulva, just a handful of low-quality studies have examined the drugs' effects, according to a new review.
Based on these studies, "it's very difficult to make definitive statements on efficacy," said Dr. Raphael Leo, the study's author from the State University of New York at Buffalo. "Certainly, more investigation is warranted."
Still, "I think that there is promise" for the use of anti-seizure medications, he added.
Chronic pain in a woman's genitals, also called vulvodynia, affects as man...
Source: Psychology of Pain - June 20, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
Anesthesiology News - Progress, If No Breakthroughs, in Chronic Post-op Pain
The emerging recognition that many patients develop chronic pain after surgery has spurred a host of behavioral and anatomic research.So far, these studies have yet to produce any breakthroughs in the understanding, and more importantly for patients, the treatment of the problem. But during a session at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, experts said the question was not whether, but when, those treatments would arrive."Not surprisingly, chronic postsurgical pain has become a popular topic," said Timothy Brennan, MD, PhD, the Samir Gergis Professor and Vice Chair for Research at the Unive...
Source: Psychology of Pain - June 14, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
Organizing principles: Classifying pain for healthcare, research | Pain Research Forum
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 conditions are impeding the health and well-being of patients, optimal medical care, and treatment advances, say pain experts who are calling for a change. This spring, two major efforts are taking shape to fill a widely perceived need for standardized worldwide diagnostic criteria to classify all chronic pain conditions (Finnerup et al., 2013; IOM, 2011; Rief et al., 2012; Rief et al., 2010; von Hehn et al., 2012)....
Source: Psychology of Pain - May 17, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
Hard Cases: The Traps of Treating Pain - NYTimes.com
I hadn't seen Larry in a dozen years when he reappeared in my office a few months ago, grinning. We were both grinning. I always liked Larry, even though he was a bit of a hustler, a little erratic in his appointments, a persistent dabbler in a variety of illegal substances. But he was always careful to avoid the hard stuff; he said he had a bad problem as a teenager and was going to stay out of trouble.It was to stay out of trouble that he left town all those years ago, and now he was back, grayer and thinner but still smiling. Then he pulled out a list of the medications he needed, and we both stopped smiling.According t...
Source: Psychology of Pain - May 15, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
How Colonoscopies Are Like Home Renovations - NYTimes.com
It's a law of nature: Everyone who undertakes major home renovations ends up loathing their contractor. When I was recently redoing my kitchen and bathroom, I finally figured out why. It has nothing to do with the contractor's honesty, quality of work, punctuality or the mess they make. It's about behavioral economics and human psychology — in particular, the unusual way that we assess pain.
In the early '90s, the psychologist Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues did a series of experiments that revealed how people remembered the pain of a situation. In one experiment, participants held a hand in an ice-wa...
Source: Psychology of Pain - May 6, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
Most pain apps lack physician input - Internal Medicine News
An evaluation of 222 pain-related smartphone apps showed that many were developed without the input of a health professional, some had inaccurate information, and some of their features weren't as robust as they could be."Many of them were giving advice and offering coping strategies, but we don't know if they're effective," said Lorraine S. Wallace, Ph.D., who led the study. In addition, the apps could potentially be dangerous for users if the coping strategy – for instance, exercise – isn't right for them, she said.Experts have begun studying the safety and efficacy of health-related smartphone apps, many of wh...
Source: Psychology of Pain - May 1, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
What's Tylenol Doing to Our Minds? - James Hamblin - The Atlantic
This study was small. Theheadlines are grandiose. The way people pass moral judgments is not necessarily indicative of their level of existential anxiety. But acetaminophen indeed appears to be affecting people's perspectives, which further muddies our already complex relationship to the drug. As Randles sees the value of their findings, "For people who suffer from chronic anxiety, or are overly sensitive to uncertainty, this work may shed some light on what is happening and how their symptoms could be reduced."Even though these changes in judgment are abstract and seemingly for the better, inclining people ...
Source: Psychology of Pain - April 22, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
Pain Medicine Care Complex - Children's National Medical Center
Children's Pain Medicine Care Complex is one of only a few programs in the country focused exclusively on managing pain for infants, children, and teens. When children are unable to express their pain in words, our pediatric specialists have the unique insight to help. Our multidisciplinary approach enables us to treat your child's physical symptoms as well as the psychological and emotional aspects of pain. We consider how a child feels and perceives pain, and take steps in care to reduce their fears and their family's anxieties. Conditions We Care For There is no typical pain patient. The team looks at eve...
Source: Psychology of Pain - April 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
In Gaming, Some See Tools to Treat Pain - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON — Fifteen-year-old Reilly woke up one morning with a sharp, stabbing pain in his left leg that soon spread to other parts of his body. The pain, which started early last year, forced him to quit soccer, and he spent the next four months being poked, prodded and scanned by doctors.The test results were inconclusive. "No one could tell him why he was in a ball on the floor unable to function," said Nina, his mother, who agreed to be interviewed only on the condition that the family's surname be withheld.Finally, last June, Dr. Sarah Rebstock, a pediatric anesthesiologist at Children's National Medical Center, ga...
Source: Psychology of Pain - April 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
A Path to Personalized Pain Treatment? | Pain Research Forum
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 control and fueling an epidemic of abuse, overdose, and death. Government agencies have responded with tighter regulations, but investigators say the only real solution is to identify the most suitable candidates for opioid treatment: those patients most likely to experience effective analgesia with minimal adverse consequences. In a recent paper, a panel of prominent pain researchers and clinicians outlines a research agenda for ...
Source: Psychology of Pain - April 16, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs
