Damage to the nervous system pathologically alters the somatosensory system, which can result in neuropathic pain. Whereas pain development has been well studied, the mechanisms orchestrating pain recovery remain unclear.

The authors of this study were able to identify neuronal groups in the spinal cord involved in this sensitization process. For this, they used a molecule from chili peppers called capsaicin, applied to the skin resulting in allodynia that extends to a broad region beyond the application site.

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) frequently develop chronic visceral hypersensitivity, presenting an important clinical problem given the lack of effective medications.

The lack of effective and safe analgesics to treat chronic pain is a health problem that diminish the life quality of people who suffers this illness.

Nerve injuries lead to disability associated with neuropathic pain that usually manifests as mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia. Neurodynamic treatment, a non-pharmacological procedure, consists of repeated nerve-selective movement protocols. They have been used to reduce pain and disability in patients, although the biological mechanisms remain poorly characterized.

In 2020, investigators from MinusPain identified the presence of a non-conventional secretory pathway composed by endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and exocytic vesicles markers in peripheral axons from sciatic nerve.

Mindfulness meditation interrupted communication between brain areas involved in processing pain sensations and areas that produce the sense of self. This resulted in reduced pain as individuals lost ownership of the sensation.

On these freezing days, the function of the TRPM8 channel, the main cold transducer in the somatosensory system, becomes relevant.

Interpersonal touch is associated with well-being and pleasant emotions, but can touch from your
romantic partner reduce pain?

My back hurts a lot from sitting all day… Do I take an Ibuprofen or a Paracetamol pill? Parisien et al. suggest not to take the decision lightly.

This paper describes a remarkable link between reinnervation after peripheral nerve damage and painful hypersensitivity to gentle touch or mechanical allodynia.

Neuropathic pain is characterized by symptoms like hyperalgesia, allodynia and/or spontaneous pain, affecting 7-8% people worldwide. Such symptoms are closely related to changes in the electric properties of sensory neurons secondary to peripheral nerve damage. One of these mechanisms involves reducing the levels of voltage-gated potassium channels.