United States : Pain Thresholds Linked To Inflammation And Sleep Problems In Arthritis Patients.Byline: pinto03 Despite recent advances in anti-inflammatory therapy, many rheumatoid arthritis rheumatoid arthritis Chronic, progressive autoimmune disease causing connective-tissue inflammation, mostly in synovial joints. It can occur at any age, is more common in women, and has an unpredictable course. (RA) patients continue to suffer from pain. Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal, Arthritis Research & Therapy found that inflammation is associated with heightened pain sensitivity at joint sites, whereas increased sleep problems are associated with heightened pain sensitivity at both joint and non-joint sites. Researchers from the Division of Rheumatology rheumatology /rheu·ma·tol·o·gy/ (-tol´ah-je) the branch of medicine dealing with rheumatic disorders, their causes, pathology, diagnosis, treatment, etc. rheu·ma·tol·o·gy n. and Pain Management Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a hospital in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill. With Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two founding members of Partners HealthCare. , and the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Center of the University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. Medical School, assessed experimental pain sensitivity, disease activity, sleep problems and psychiatric distress in 59 women with RA. The researchers used questionnaires to assess the women's sleep problems and psychiatric distress and measured the levels of C-reactive protein C-Reactive Protein Definition C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein produced by the liver and found in the blood. Purpose C-reactive protein is not normally found in the blood of healthy people. as an indicator of disease activity. They also measured pain sensitivity with pressure pain threshold testing at joint and non-joint sites. Lower pain thresholds are indicative of higher pain sensitivity. "Sleep problems were inversely associated with pain threshold at all sites, suggesting a defect in central pain processing," state the authors. This finding emphasises the need for research into the mechanisms underlying sleep disorders Sleep Disorders Definition Sleep disorders are a group of syndromes characterized by disturbance in the patient's amount of sleep, quality or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions associated with sleep. and pain in RA patients, particularly given the common occurrence of sleeping problems among these patients. This autoimmune disease autoimmune disease, any of a number of abnormal conditions caused when the body produces antibodies to its own substances. In rheumatoid arthritis, a group of antibody molecules called collectively RF, or rheumatoid factor, is complexed to the individual's own gamma , causing chronic inflammation, affects nearly 1% of the population and sufferers often report ongoing pain in spite of successful anti-inflammatory treatment. "Since differences in pain sensitivity may shape the course of pain complaints and influence treatment decisions, it is important to understand the factors associated with enhanced pain sensitivity," lead author Yvonne Lee says, adding, "Physicians and researchers should consider both inflammatory and non-inflammatory factors when evaluating pain in research settings and in the clinic." Copyright : Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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