Emotional Pain

OBJECTIVE: As limitations in activities of daily living are major components of many stroke outcome scales, we examined how well activity limitations predicted subjective well-being among stroke survivors in a nationally representative survey. METHODS: Individuals with a self-reported history of stroke were identified from the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Subjective well-being (primary outcome) was assessed with a validated 7-item measure (higher = greater well-being) assessing emotions (cheerful, bored, full of life, and upset) and self-realization (purpose in life, self-acceptance, and environmental mastery)...

: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) assessment should be part of the regular clinical assessment of persons with hemophilia. This study assessed quality of life of severe hemophilia patients (Type A) in Tehran comprehensive hemophilia care center. This cross-sectional study was done in 2016 and 84 men aged over 20 years with severe hemophilia (Type A) were assessed. All patients have been treated over 10 years at the comprehensive hemophilia care center, Iran. The HRQOL assessment includes the A36 Hemophilia-QOL questionnaire, sociodemographical and clinical characteristics...

In the last 10 years, numerous studies have been published that throw new light on rosacea, in all areas of the disease. This overview summarises all the key developments, based on the indexed bibliography appearing in Medline between 2007 and 2017. Recent epidemiological data show that the prevalence of the disease is doubtless greater than estimated hitherto (more than 10% of adults in some countries) and that we should not overlook rosacea in subjects with skin phototypes V or VI, a condition that exists on all continents...

BACKGROUND: Chronic diseases leave a significant effect on not only the afflicted children but also their parents. Chronic diseases in children may also influence their parents' or primary caregivers' quality of life (QoL). OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of a Brief Psycho-educational Intervention (BPI) and Benson's Relaxation Technique (BRT) on the QoL of primary caregivers of children with chronic diseases. METHODS: The present quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design was conducted on 100 parents with children who had one chronic disease (50 in each of the control and intervention groups) and were admitted to two state-run pediatric hospitals in Tehran, Iran in 2014...

BACKGROUND: Herpes zoster (HZ) can develop into postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), both of which are painful diseases. PHN patients suffer chronic pain and emotional disorders. Previous studies showed that the PHN brain displayed abnormal activity and structural change, but the difference in brain activity between HZ and PHN is still not known. OBJECTIVES: To identify regional brain activity changes in HZ and PHN brains with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) technique, and to observe the differences between HZ and PHN patients...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between non-specific computer training (NCT) and cognition-specific computer training (CCT). DESIGN: Randomized controlled experimental study. SETTING: Local community welfare center. SUBJECTS: A total of 78 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were randomly assigned to the NCT ( n = 39) or CCT group ( n = 39). INTERVENTION: The NCT group underwent NCT using Nintendo Wii for improving functional performance, while the CCT group underwent CCT using CoTras for improving function of the cognitive domain specifically...

OBJECTIVE: Research shows that active support provision is associated with greater well-being for spouses of individuals with chronic conditions. However, not all instances of support may be equally beneficial for spouses' well-being. The theory of communal responsiveness suggests that because spouses' well-being is interdependent, spouses benefit most from providing support when they believe their support increases their partner's happiness and is appreciated. Two studies tested this hypothesis...

The involvement of the reticular formation (RF) in the transmission and modulation of nociceptive information has been extensively studied. The brainstem RF contains several areas which are targeted by spinal cord afferents conveying nociceptive input. The arrival of nociceptive input to the RF may trigger alert reactions which generate a protective/defense reaction to pain. RF neurons located at the medulla oblongata and targeted by ascending nociceptive information are also involved in the control of vital functions that can be affected by pain, namely cardiovascular control...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of patients on receiving a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. BACKGROUND: Persons with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are often diagnosed with cancer when at an advanced stage. This may arise due to a lack of screening programs and delays in help seeking as the symptoms experienced are fairly non-specific in nature. Consequently, receiving an unexpected diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma may pose a psychosocial challenge to the individual...

Central opioidergic mechanisms may modulate the positive effects of physical exercise such as mood elevation and stress reduction. How exercise intensity and concomitant affective changes affect central opioidergic responses is unknown. We studied the effects of acute physical exercise on the cerebral μ-opioid receptors (MOR) of 22 healthy recreationally active males using positron emission tomography (PET) and the MOR-selective radioligand [(11)C]carfentanil. MOR binding was measured in three conditions on separate days: after a 60-min aerobic moderate-intensity exercise session, after a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session, and after rest...

The capacity of rodents to recognize and respond to emotional signs from a conspecific is a valuable adaptive behavior, which provides essential skills for species survival. However, repeated exposure to aversive situations may elicit maladaptive behavioral responses in subjects that experience noxious episodes and their colony members. Previous findings by our group demonstrated that living with a subject in neuropathic pain induces anxiogenic-like behaviors and hypernociception in mice. Whereas chronic pain may be considered a stressful stimulus, we extended our findings on stress-induced emotional transfer...

The Stanford Chronic Pain Self-Management Programme (CPSMP) consists of six 2½-hour weekly workshops focusing on how to manage pain in daily life. The workshops are facilitated by two workshop leaders of whom at least one must suffer from a long-term pain condition. The program is highly structured and manualized. Only few controlled trials testing the effect of CPSMP exist.Enrolled in the study were 424 adults from 19 Danish municipalities, (72% women; age: 25-93 years) with pain of any etiology and great variation in pain history (0-50 yrs)...

OBJECTIVES: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a major health issue, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Studies have demonstrated the importance of emotion and cognition in chronic pain, however, the relevant brain physiology in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies are unclear in CLBP populations. Therefore, this review aimed to identify MRI brain changes and examine their potential relationship with emotional and cognitive processes in CLBP. METHOD: A systematic search was conducted in 5 databases...

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain is characterized by a complex interaction of somatic, mental and social factors. Assessing these factors in patients with chronic pain is vital during the diagnostic work-up and when making a structured treatment plan. Interdisciplinary pain assessment (ISA) is the most promising method to deal with these challenges. This article presents our experience in performing pain assessments in the hospital setting and also illustrates the characteristic features of chronic pain patients undergoing such assessments...

Pain spontaneously activates adaptive and dynamic learning processes affecting the anticipation of, and the responses to, future pain. Computational models of associative learning effectively capture the production and ongoing changes in conditioned anticipatory responses (eg, skin conductance response), but the impact of this dynamic process on unconditional pain responses remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the dynamic modulation of pain and the nociceptive flexion reflex by fear learning in healthy human adult participants undergoing a classical conditioning procedure involving an acquisition, reversal and extinction phase...

Considerable research links chronic pain to autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction, specifically low heart rate variability (HRV) mediated by reduced parasympathetic activity. However, little is known about factors that influence ANS function in chronic pain. The ANS is the primary pathway for brain-gut communication, making it of particular interest in gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, characterized by functional abdominal pain (FAP). We evaluated the relation of sex, pain severity, and psychological stress to ANS function in adolescents/young adults from a database of pediatric FAP and control participants enrolled 8 years earlier in a prospective study of pain...

Caregiver research often focuses on negative health outcomes, yet little is known about the self-care practices of caregivers. The present study investigates self-care practices among family caregivers and the relationships between personal self-care, perceived stress, and other health variables. Data were collected from informal caregivers through self-administered Internet and paper surveys that included the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-item Health Survey, Perceived Stress Scale, and Self-Care Practices Scale...

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by widespread pain and a variety of somatic symptoms. The international prevalence of fibromyalgia is 2-5%, but its current prevalence in Finland is unclear. Various adversities are linked to the onset of fibromyalgia. However, there is need for more data regarding the association between childhood physical abuse and fibromyalgia. Further, the association of childhood emotional stressors and fibromyalgia is disputed. The aim of the current study is to produce more information about that relationship using data from the Health and Social Support (HeSSup) Study...

INTRODUCTION: Narcolepsy patients report lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) than the general population, as measured by the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36). This analysis evaluated whether changes in SF-36 correlated with physician-rated Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI-C). METHODS: Data were from 209 of 228 narcolepsy patients participating in an 8-week clinical trial of sodium oxybate. Changes from baseline for SF-36 subscales (Physical Functioning, Role Physical, Bodily Pain, General Health, Vitality, Social Functioning, Role Emotional, and Mental Health) and the summary scores were evaluated for correlation with CGI-C overall and by treatment group...

OBJECTIVE: To define an applicable dataset for ALS patient registries we weighted specific clinical items as scored by worldwide ALS experts. METHODS: Sixty participants were invited based on relevant clinical work, publications and personal acquaintance. They rated 160 clinical items consensually agreed by the members of our project, incorporating specialists from five European Centres. Scoring scheme was defined as: 1 - essential; 2 - important; 3 - not very important...