Objectives: Two studies examined whether observers’ personality traits contribute to prosocial responses to others’ facial expression of pain. Experiment 1 examined the personality traits that could account for observers’ variability in estimating others’ pain intensity. Experiment 2 questioned to what extent the contribution of personality traits on inclination to help people in pain depend on...

BACKGROUND Persistently active PKMζ has been implicated in maintaining spinal nociceptive sensitization that underlies pain hypersensitivity. However, evidence for PKMζ in the maintenance of pain hypersensitivity comes exclusively from short-term studies in males using pharmacological agents of questionable selectivity. The present study examines the contribution of PKMζ to long-lasting allodyn...

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OBJECTIVE To identify core elements of what patients with chronic low back pain perceive as good clinical communication and interaction with a specialist ("The Good Back-Consultation"). DESIGN Qualitative study including observation of consultations and a subsequent patient interview. Quantitative data were also recorded. SUBJECTS Thirty-five patients with chronic low back pain referred to ...

BACKGROUND A spinal triage assessment service may impact a wide range of patient outcomes. Investigating potential predictors of success or improvement may reveal why some people improve and some do not, as well as help to begin to explain potential mechanisms for improvements. The objective of this study was to determine which factors were associated with improved short-term self-reported pain...

BACKGROUND Although mirror pain occurs after cordotomy in patients experiencing unilateral pain via a referred pain mechanism, no studies have examined whether this pain mechanism operates in patients who have bilateral pain. OBJECTIVE To assess the usefulness of cordotomy for bilateral pain from the viewpoint of increased pain or new pain caused by a referred pain mechanism. METHODS Twenty...

AIM A case of a patient with a confusing referred pain is reported that emphasizes the importance of providing a differential diagnosis in order to avoid inappropriate treatment. SUMMARY This article describes the management of a patient presenting with a combined endo-perio problem that was apparently treated adequately. After a short period of time, the reappearance of mild pain was misdiag...

How many lives have already been saved by the anti-cancer drug metformin? Inadvertently perhaps, among the millions of type 2 diabetics with occult or known cancers and who have been prescribed metformin since the 1950s, thousands may have benefited from the anticancer properties of this first-line pharmacotherapy. Quo vadis? Now, researchers aim to move metformin from a non-targeted stage of c...

BACKGROUND Neck and back pain are among the most common causes of prolonged disability, and development of interventions with effect on pain, disability and return to work is important. Reduction of fear avoidance might be one mechanism behind improvement after interventions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes in pain and disability at the 12-month follow-up of patients with n...