'Dry eye' linked to chronic pain syndromes - Medical Xpress

Physician-researchers with Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of UHealth—the University of Miami Health System, have found a link between "dry eye" and chronic pain syndromes—a finding that suggests that a new paradigm is needed for diagnosis and treatment to improve patient outcomes.

"Our study indicates that some patients with dry eye have corneal somatosensory pathway dysfunction and would be better described as having neuropathic ocular pain," said Anat Galor, M.D., M.S.P.H., a cornea and uveitis specialist and associate professor of clinical ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and the lead author of the groundbreaking study, "Neuropathic Ocular Pain due to Dry Eye is Associated with Multiple Comorbid Chronic Pain Syndromes," published recently in the American Pain Society's Journal of Pain.

Roy C. Levitt, M.D., a neuroanesthesiologist, pain specialist, and geneticist also at the Miller School, and corresponding author, noted, "A multidisciplinary approach used for chronic pain treatment may also benefit these dry eye patients."

Galor and Levitt are part of a team of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and UHealth physicians who treat dry eye.

Their research team evaluated 154 dry eye patients from the Miami Veterans Affairs Hospital. "Dry eye patients in our study reported higher levels of ocular and non-ocular pain associated with multiple chronic pain syndromes, and had lower scores on depression and quality-of-life indices consistent with a central sensitivity disorder," said Levitt, a professor and Vice Chair of Translational Research and Academic Affairs in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Pain Management. "We also suspect that neuropathic ocular pain may share causal genetic factors with other overlapping chronic pain conditions."

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http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-01-eye-linked-chronic-pain-syndromes.html

2016 Global Year Against Pain in the Joints - IASP

Joint pain affects millions of people who suffer from a wide variety of ailments and conditions. Chronic joint pain can be manageable, but treatment is often inadequate, and patients may continue to suffer. Indeed, medications are sometimes unsafe, making rehabilitation and physical therapy essential.

Joint pain also can exact substantial financial and other costs -- high medical expenses, lost work days, and diminished quality and productivity in people's work and personal lives. Aging populations, sedentary lifestyles, and an increasing propensity toward obesity all mean that the problem of joint pain is likely to continue unabated worldwide.

IASP's 2016 Global Year Against Pain in the Joints campaign will address these issues and concerns in the following ways:

• Disseminating information on joint pain
• Connecting pain researchers to health-care professionals who interact with patients
• Increasing awareness of joint pain among government officials, the news media, the general public, and patient organizations worldwide, and
• Encouraging government leaders, research institutions, and other individuals and organizations to support research aimed at producing more effective and accessible treatment methods and outcomes for people with joint pain

http://www.iasp-pain.org/globalyear

Relief: Pain Research News, Insights And Ideas - Brought To You By The Pain Research Forum

RELIEF is a freely available news web site that translates the latest pain research into clear and accessible language and ideas for patients and the general public.

Who is this site for?

Anyone touched by or interested in the problem of chronic pain. It is intended for those with little or no scientific background in pain research.

Why did we create this site?

There is a large amount of pain research taking place in labs throughout the world. But few mechanisms exist to translate the latest research findings into clear, jargon-free language for a general audience. We want patients and others interested in the issue of chronic pain to be well informed about the latest research. Our goal is to provide readers with the information and knowledge they need so that they can talk to journalists, policymakers, healthcare providers and others in order to help raise awareness of chronic pain and rally support for much-needed pain research.

What types of content does RELIEF provide?

We publish summaries of the latest research findings, feature articles, and interviews with pain researchers, advocates, and patients. We also host podcasts and webinars.

http://relief.news/