Connecting Research and Experts with Journalists

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Patients with fibromyalgia treated with a synthetic form of marijuana, nabilone, showed significant reductions in pain and anxiety in a first-of-its-kind study, published in The Journal of Pain.

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As controversy swirls about proper clinical use of opioids and other potent pain medications, research reported at the American Pain Society annual meeting shows that, contrary to widespread beliefs, less than 3 percent of patients with no history of drug abuse who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain will show signs of possible drug abuse or dependence.

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Though some adults with chronic pain often say they experienced an adverse event in childhood (such as abuse), these events are no more common than amongst adults who are pain free, according to research presented today at the American Pain Society annual meeting.

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Though opioid pain medications are effective for treating chronic pain, many physicians are reluctant to prescribe them fearing potential for addiction and abuse. Harvard researchers may have an answer to this problem with a new screening tool, published in The Journal of Pain, to predict which pain patients are most likely to exhibit aberrant medication-related behavior.

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Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that causes widespread pain and tenderness throughout the body. A University of Michigan study, published in The Journal of Pain, shows that fibromyalgia is associated with central nervous system abnormalities evidenced by patients' elevated sensitivity to auditory and pressure sensations.

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The growing body of evidence that marijuana (cannabis) may be effective as a pain reliever has been expanded with publication of a new study in The Journal of Pain reporting that patients with nerve pain showed reduced pain intensity from smoking marijuana.

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Drug-use surveys have shown an increasing prevalence of non-medical use of opioid pain medications. University of Chicago researchers writing in The Journal of Pain report that critical information would be learned about the problem if motives for non-medical use were studied more extensively.

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Reactivation of genital herpes is linked in some cases with the emergence of widespread neuropathic pain, according to a Finnish study reported in The Journal of Pain.

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Patients with accident or trauma related chronic pain often have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. What isn't clearly known, however, is how PTSD relates to mood disorders and pain severity in chronic pain patients.

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For workers with chronic low back pain, taking opioid pain medications can significantly improve their ability to lift and perform other work-related physical tasks, according to study published in The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society.