Endometriosis is a condition characterized by ectopic endometrial tissues located outside of the uterus, most commonly found on the pelvic peritoneum or ovary. Endometriosis, which occurs in 7-10% of women in the general population and 71-87% of women with chronic pelvic pain, is associated with dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. There is considerable debate about the effective...

The modern approach to the management of pain involves optimizing all aspects of the process. This includes utilization of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic modalities, consideration of patient characteristics, proper matching of the physiology of the pain with the analgesic's mechanism of action (pharmacodynamics, PD), and the onset and duration of action (pharmacokinetics, PK). No single ag...

Infants and children are typically undertreated for pain. Many treatment options are available to prevent and diminish the pain experienced by children during venipuncture. Infusion nurses must employ pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment options to make the experience more positive for the child, the family, and the nurse. These treatment options are explored in this article.

TRPA1 and TRPV1 are ion channels crucial for pain sensation. In this issue of Neuron, Weng et al. (2015) demonstrate that the activity of TRPA1-TRPV1 heteromers is governed by Tmem100 and that disabling Tmem100 may be a novel pharmacologic strategy to combat pain.

Amputation neuroma can cause very serious, intractable pain. Many treatment modalities are suggested for painful neuroma. Pharmacologic treatment shows a limited effect on eliminating the pain, and surgical treatment has a high recurrence rate. We applied pulsed radiofrequency treatment at the neuroma stalk under ultrasonography guidance. The long-term outcome was very successful, prompting us ...

Erica Brownfield, MD Emory University School of Medicine Approximately 23 million people undergo surgery each year in the United States. Despite pharmacologic interventions, at least 40-50% of postoperative patients report inadequate pain relief. In addition, the practice of withholding analgesics due to fear of masking symptomatology and delaying diagnosis is still widespread in many emergency...

The early stages of a new romantic relationship are characterized by intense feelings of euphoria, well-being, and preoccupation with the romantic partner. Neuroimaging research has linked those feelings to activation of reward systems in the human brain. The results of those studies may be relevant to pain management in humans, as basic animal research has shown that pharmacologic activation o...