scholarly journals Hypothesizing in the Face of the Opioid Crisis Coupling Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (GARS) Testing with Electrotherapeutic Nonopioid Modalities Such as H-Wave Could Attenuate Both Pain and Hedonic Addictive Behaviors

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 552
Author(s):  
Ashim Gupta ◽  
Abdalla Bowirrat ◽  
Luis Llanos Gomez ◽  
David Baron ◽  
Igor Elman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Opioid Analgesics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
Addictive Behaviors ◽  
Pain Clinics ◽  
Analgesic Agents ◽  
Addiction Risk ◽  
Affective Components

In the United States, amid the opioid overdose epidemic, nonaddicting/nonpharmacological proven strategies are available to treat pain and manage chronic pain effectively without opioids. Evidence supporting the long-term use of opioids for pain is lacking, as is the will to alter the drug-embracing culture in American chronic pain management. Some pain clinicians seem to prefer classical analgesic agents that promote unwanted tolerance to analgesics and subsequent biological induction of the “addictive brain”. Reward genes play a vital part in modulation of nociception and adaptations in the dopaminergic circuitry. They may affect various sensory and affective components of the chronic pain syndromes. The Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (GARS) test coupled with the H-Wave at entry in pain clinics could attenuate pain and help prevent addiction. The GARS test results identify high-risk for both drug and alcohol, and H-Wave can be initiated to treat pain instead of opioids. The utilization of H-Wave to aid in pain reduction and mitigation of hedonic addictive behaviors is recommended, notwithstanding required randomized control studies. This frontline approach would reduce the possibility of long-term neurobiological deficits and fatalities associated with potent opioid analgesics.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Treatment of Chronic Pain

Pain Medicine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E Morales ◽  
R Jason Yong
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Sociodemographic Profile

Abstract Objective To summarize the current literature on disparities in the treatment of chronic pain. Methods We focused on studies conducted in the United States and published from 2000 and onward. Studies of cross-sectional, longitudinal, and interventional designs were included. Results A review of the current literature revealed that an adverse association between non-White race and treatment of chronic pain is well supported. Studies have also shown that racial differences exist in the long-term monitoring for opioid misuse among patients suffering from chronic pain. In addition, a patient’s sociodemographic profile appears to influence the relationship between chronic pain and quality of life. Results from interventional studies were mixed. Conclusions Disparities exist within the treatment of chronic pain. Currently, it is unclear how to best combat these disparities. Further work is needed to understand why disparities exist and to identify points in patients’ treatment when they are most vulnerable to unequal care. Such work will help guide the development and implementation of effective interventions.

scholarly journals Cannabinoids in Chronic Pain: Therapeutic Potential Through Microglia Modulation

2022 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nynke J. van den Hoogen ◽  
Erika K. Harding ◽  
Chloé E. D. Davidson ◽  
Tuan Trang
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Opioid Analgesics ◽  
Pain Modulation ◽  
Pain Outcomes ◽  
Cb2 Receptors ◽  
Affective Components ◽  
Peripheral Immune Cells

Chronic pain is a complex sensory, cognitive, and emotional experience that imposes a great personal, psychological, and socioeconomic burden on patients. An estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide are afflicted with chronic pain, which is often difficult to treat and may be resistant to the potent pain-relieving effects of opioid analgesics. Attention has therefore focused on advancing new pain therapies directed at the cannabinoid system because of its key role in pain modulation. Endocannabinoids and exogenous cannabinoids exert their actions primarily through Gi/o-protein coupled cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors expressed throughout the nervous system. CB1 receptors are found at key nodes along the pain pathway and their activity gates both the sensory and affective components of pain. CB2 receptors are typically expressed at low levels on microglia, astrocytes, and peripheral immune cells. In chronic pain states, there is a marked increase in CB2 expression which modulates the activity of these central and peripheral immune cells with important consequences for the surrounding pain circuitry. Growing evidence indicate that interventions targeting CB1 or CB2 receptors improve pain outcomes in a variety of preclinical pain models. In this mini-review, we will highlight recent advances in understanding how cannabinoids modulate microglia function and its implications for cannabinoid-mediated analgesia, focusing on microglia-neuron interactions within the spinal nociceptive circuitry.

Oxymorphone and oxymorphone extended release: A pharmacotherapeutic review

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Alexander Sloan, MD ◽  
Robert L. Barkin, PharmD, MBA
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Extended Release ◽  
Analgesic Efficacy ◽  
Opioid Analgesics ◽  
Immediate Release ◽  
The United States ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Opioid Agonist ◽  
Noncancer Pain

The treatment of chronic pain remains an enormous challenge in the United States. Opioid analgesics are an important component of pharmacotherapy for chronic pain and have proven efficacy in the management of cancer and noncancer chronic pain. The newest addition to oral opioid pharmacotherapy is oral oxymorphone, a semisynthetic opioid agonist that is now available in oral immediate-release (IR) and extended-release (ER) formulations. This review discusses the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacotherapeutics, and clinical use of oral oxymorphone IR and ER formulations for the management of moderate to severe pain for different types of patients in a variety of settings. Two published studies evaluated the efficacy and safety of oxymorphone IR in patients with moderate to severe postoperative pain and demonstrated that it provides rapid and effective analgesia and is generally well tolerated. Six published randomized controlled trials and three published open-label studies evaluated the efficacy and safety of oxymorphone ER for chronic cancer or noncancer pain. These trials found analgesic efficacy and tolerability comparable to that provided by morphine controlled release (CR) or oxycodone CR; treatment effects with oxymorphone ER were durable for treatment periods of 12 weeks at the same dose or up to 1 year with little dose escalation. Titrated doses of oxymorphone ER were effective and generally well tolerated in both opioid-experienced and opioid-naïve patients. Aspects of oxymorphone metabolism and limited protein binding may simplify treatment in certain populations.

Long-term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of OROS® hydromorphone in patients with chronic pain

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Wallace, MD ◽  
Dwight E. Moulin, MD ◽  
Richard L. Rauck, MD ◽  
Sarita Khanna, PhD ◽  
Iulia Cristina Tudor, PhD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Brief Pain Inventory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Safety And Efficacy ◽  
Analgesic Effects ◽  
N 93

Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of long-term repeated dosing of OROS® hydromorphone in chronic pain patients.Design: This multicenter, open-label extension trial enrolled patients from three short-term OROS® hydromorphone trials.Setting: Fifty-six centers in the United States and Canada.Patients: Adults with chronic cancer pain or chronic nonmalignant pain who were receiving stable doses of OROS® hydromorphone (≥8 mg/day). Three hundred and eighty-eight patients were enrolled, 106 patients completed at least 12 months of therapy.Interventions: OROS® hydromorphone (individualized doses) was administered once daily.Main outcome measures: Safety and efficacy (Brief Pain Inventory and patient and investigator global evaluations) were assessed at monthly visits.Results: The median duration of extended OROS® hydromorphone therapy was 274 days. The median daily dose of study medication was 32.0 mg at extension-study baseline, 40.0 mg at month 3, and 48.0 mg at months 6, 9, and 12, respectively. The most frequently reported adverse events were nausea (n = 93, 24.0 percent) and constipation (n = 75, 19.3 percent). The analgesic effects of OROS® hydromorphone, assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory, were maintained throughout the extension. At 12 months, 72.4 percent of patients and 75.9 percent of investigators rated overall treatment as good, very good, or excellent.Conclusions: Once-daily OROS® hydromorphone is an osmotically driven, controlled-release preparation that may be particularly well suited to long-term use, because it provides consistent plasma concentrations and sustained around-the-clock analgesia. In this study, the benefits of OROS® hydromorphone attained in short-term studies were maintained in the long-term when daily administration was continued.

Monitoring outcomes during long-term opioid therapy for noncancer pain: Results with the Pain Assessment and Documentation Tool

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Passik, PhD ◽  
Kenneth L. Kirsh, PhD ◽  
Laurie Whitcomb, MA ◽  
Jeffrey R. Schein, PhD, MPH ◽  
Mitchell A. Kaplan, PhD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Pain Assessment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Therapy ◽  
Chronic Pain Patients ◽  
Noncancer Pain ◽  
Documentation Tool ◽  
Pain Patients

The increasingly common practice of long-term opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain must be guided by ongoing assessment of four types of outcomes: pain relief, function, side effects, and drug-related behaviors. Our objective was to gather initial pilot data on the clinical application of a specialized chart note, the Pain Assessment and Documentation Tool (PADT), which was developed and tested with 27 physicians. This pilot test provided the means to collect cross-sectional outcome data on a large sample of opioid-treated chronic pain patients. Each of the physician volunteers (located in a variety of settings across the United States) completed the PADT for a convenience sample of personally treated chronic pain patients who had received at least three months of opioid therapy. Completion of the PADT required a clinical interview, review of the medical chart, and direct clinical observation. Data from the PADTs were collated and analyzed. The results suggested that the majority of patients with chronic pain achieve relatively positive outcomes in the eyes of their prescribing physicians in all four relevant domains with opioid therapy. Analgesia was modest but meaningful, functionality was generally stabilized or improved, and side effects were tolerable. Potentially aberrant behaviors were common but viewed as an indicator of a problem (i.e., addiction or diversion) in only approximately 10 percent of cases. Using the PADT, physician ratings can be developed in four domains. In this sample, outcomes suggested that opioid therapy provided meaningful analgesia.

scholarly journals Neural Mechanisms of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain: A Network-Based fMRI Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Semra A. Aytur ◽  
Kimberly L. Ray ◽  
Sarah K. Meier ◽  
Jenna Campbell ◽  
Barry Gendron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Functional Improvement ◽  
Pain Acceptance ◽  
Commitment Therapy ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment

Over 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain (CP), which causes more disability than any other medical condition in the United States at a cost of $560–$635 billion per year (Institute of Medicine, 2011). Opioid analgesics are frequently used to treat CP. However, long term use of opioids can cause brain changes such as opioid-induced hyperalgesia that, over time, increase pain sensation. Also, opioids fail to treat complex psychological factors that worsen pain-related disability, including beliefs about and emotional responses to pain. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be efficacious for CP. However, CBT generally does not focus on important factors needed for long-term functional improvement, including attainment of personal goals and the psychological flexibility to choose responses to pain. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been recognized as an effective, non-pharmacologic treatment for a variety of CP conditions (Gutierrez et al., 2004). However, little is known about the neurologic mechanisms underlying ACT. We conducted an ACT intervention in women (n = 9) with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected pre- and post-ACT, and changes in functional connectivity (FC) were measured using Network-Based Statistics (NBS). Behavioral outcomes were measured using validated assessments such as the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II), the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the NIH Toolbox Neuro-QoLTM (Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders) scales. Results suggest that, following the 4-week ACT intervention, participants exhibited reductions in brain activation within and between key networks including self-reflection (default mode, DMN), emotion (salience, SN), and cognitive control (frontal parietal, FPN). These changes in connectivity strength were correlated with changes in behavioral outcomes including decreased depression and pain interference, and increased participation in social roles. This study is one of the first to demonstrate that improved function across the DMN, SN, and FPN may drive the positive outcomes associated with ACT. This study contributes to the emerging evidence supporting the use of neurophysiological indices to characterize treatment effects of alternative and complementary mind-body therapies.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Primary Care Clinician Communication About Risk, Benefits, and Goals Related to Chronic Opioid Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 238146831989257
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Danielson ◽  
Olena Mazurenko ◽  
Barbara T. Andraka-Christou ◽  
Julie DiIulio ◽  
Sarah M. Downs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Therapy ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
Chronic Noncancer Pain ◽  
Opioid Prescribing ◽  
Limited Effectiveness ◽  
Pain Care

Background. Safe opioid prescribing and effective pain care are particularly important issues in the United States, where decades of widespread opioid prescribing have contributed to high rates of opioid use disorder. Because of the importance of clinician-patient communication in effective pain care and recent initiatives to curb rising opioid overdose deaths, this study sought to understand how clinicians and patients communicate about the risks, benefits, and goals of opioid therapy during primary care visits. Methods. We recruited clinicians and patients from six primary care clinics across three health systems in the Midwest United States. We audio-recorded 30 unique patients currently receiving opioids for chronic noncancer pain from 12 clinicians. We systematically analyzed transcribed, clinic visits to identify emergent themes. Results. Twenty of the 30 patient participants were females. Several patients had multiple pain diagnoses, with the most common diagnoses being osteoarthritis ( n = 10), spondylosis ( n = 6), and low back pain ( n = 5). We identified five themes: 1) communication about individual-level and population-level risks, 2) communication about policies or clinical guidelines related to opioids, 3) communication about the limited effectiveness of opioids for chronic pain conditions, 4) communication about nonopioid therapies for chronic pain, and 5) communication about the goal of the opioid tapering. Conclusions. Clinicians discuss opioid-related risks in varying ways during patient visits, which may differentially affect patient experiences. Our findings may inform the development and use of more standardized approaches to discussing opioids during primary care visits.

scholarly journals Clinical Strategies for the Treatment and Management of Patients Prescribed Long-term Opioid Therapy

Pain Medicine ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1737-1744
Author(s):  
Jessica J Wyse ◽  
Linda Ganzini ◽  
Steven K Dobscha ◽  
Erin E Krebs ◽  
Janet Zamudio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Drug Testing ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Therapy ◽  
Prescribing Practices ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Care Systems

Abstract Objectives Across diverse health care systems, growing recognition of the harms associated with long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic pain has catalyzed substantial changes to policy and practice designed to promote safer prescribing and patient care. Although clear goals have been defined, how clinics and providers should most effectively implement these changes has been less well defined, and facilities and providers have had substantial flexibility to innovate. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with 24 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinicians across the United States who prescribe LTOT for chronic pain. Interviews probed the practices and initiatives providers utilized to meet opioid safety requirements and address common challenges in caring for patients prescribed LTOT. Results Innovative strategies in the design and organization of clinical practice (urine drug testing, informed consent, limiting transfer requests, specialty patient panel) and resources utilized (engaged pharmacists, non-opioid pain treatments, intra-organizational collaborations) are described. Conclusions We conclude with recommendations designed to improve opioid prescribing practices, both within the VA and in other settings.

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