Chronic Pain

First oral drug for spinal cord injury improves movement in mice

An experimental oral drug given to mice after a spinal cord injury was effective at improving limb movement after the injury, a new study shows.

Neuroscience created Jan 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Major health benefits of music uncovered

(Medical Xpress)—In the first large-scale review of 400 research papers in the neurochemistry of music, a team led by Prof. Daniel J. Levitin of McGill University's Psychology Dept. has been able to show ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 28, 2013 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 0

Chronic pain gene identified

British researchers say they have identified the gene that controls chronic pain, opening the door to new drug therapies that block the chemical processes that cause chronic back pain, headaches or arthritis.

Genetics created Sep 08, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Meditation expertise changes experience of pain

(Medical Xpress)—Meditation can change the way a person experiences pain, according to a new study by UW–Madison neuroscientists.

Neuroscience created Nov 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Where does it hurt? Pain map discovered in the human brain

(Phys.org)—Scientists have revealed the minutely detailed pain map of the hand that is contained within our brains, shedding light on how the brain makes us feel discomfort and potentially increasing our ...

Neuroscience created Nov 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Electric stimulation of brain releases powerful, opiate-like painkiller

Researchers used electricity on certain regions in the brain of a patient with chronic, severe facial pain to release an opiate-like substance that's considered one of the body's most powerful painkillers.

Neuroscience created Jan 02, 2013 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Pain really is in the mind, but not in the way you think

Everybody hurts, but not everybody keeps hurting. The unlucky few who do end up on a downward spiral of economic, social and physical disadvantage.

Medical research created Aug 10, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Study suggests new way to treat chronic pain

Nearly one in five people suffers from the insidious and often devastating problem of chronic pain.

Genetics created Mar 26, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

The pain puzzle: Uncovering how morphine increases pain in some people

For individuals with agonizing pain, it is a cruel blow when the gold-standard medication actually causes more pain. Adults and children whose pain gets worse when treated with morphine may be closer to a solution, based ...

Neuroscience created Jan 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New hope for addicts

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to quickly grasp what a University of Mississippi professor's research could mean to the millions of people addicted to hardcore narcotics such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and morphine.

Addiction created Jan 28, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

Reformulated imatinib eliminates morphine tolerance in lab studies

By reformulating the common cancer drug imatinib (Gleevec), researchers have eliminated morphine tolerance in rats – an important step toward improving the effectiveness of chronic pain management in patients, according ...

Medications created Feb 21, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Study finds new benefit of coffee: It reduces pain

Scientists in Norway have more good news for coffee drinkers. Researchers have already found evidence that the drink - or the beans it's brewed from - can help with weight loss, reduce one's risk of developing ...

Health created Sep 07, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 3

First objective measure of pain discovered in brain scan patterns

For the first time, scientists have been able to predict how much pain people are feeling by looking at images of their brains, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

Neuroscience created Apr 10, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Freezing nerves knocks pain out cold

Using a tiny ball of ice, a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment called cryoneurolysis safely short circuits chronic pain caused by nerve damage, according to data being presented at the Society of Interventional ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 14, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0

Newly discovered scaffold supports turning pain off

(Medical Xpress) -- Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a "scaffolding" protein that holds together multiple elements in a complex system responsible for regulating pain, mental illnesses and other complex ...

Neuroscience created Jul 27, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Chronic pain is pain that has lasted for a long time. In medicine, the distinction between acute and chronic pain has traditionally been determined by an arbitrary interval of time since onset; the two most commonly used markers being 3 months and 6 months since onset, though some theorists and researchers have placed the transition from acute to chronic pain at 12 months. Others apply acute to pain that lasts less than 30 days, chronic to pain of more than six months duration, and subacute to pain that lasts from one to six months. A popular alternative definition of chronic pain, involving no arbitrarily fixed durations is "pain that extends beyond the expected period of healing."

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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