Mechanisms and Management of Chronic Pain.

Victor V Chaban

doi:10.3844/ijrnsp.2021.1.2

Abstract

Chronic pain symptoms account up to half of all health care visits, afflicts >10% of US adults, at a higher prevalence in women with current analgesic drugs rarely provide enough efficacy in the absence of serious side effects. Chronic pain is also the root cause of the national opioid health crisis, which adds to health care costs and deaths. Thus, new pain therapies based on detailed understanding of nociceptive mechanisms are needed as alternatives to opioid analgesics and are of great societal importance. Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent human health problems that often is associated by the concomitant decline in cognitive and motor functions. Pain is strongly associated with other diseases that can lack of awareness to its pathology. Despite a successful reduction of pain with available medications, majority of treated patients were seeking professional help again. The average time duration between the onset of pain symptoms and the diagnosis is couple of years despite the fact that majority of patients with chronic pain suffer every day. Efficacious and reliable therapeutic intervention is still unavailable despite the tremendous economic burden imposed on healthcare to treat many diseases associated with chronic pain.

Highlights

Chronic pain symptoms account up to half of all health care visits, afflicts >10% of US adults, at a higher prevalence in women with current analgesic drugs rarely provide enough efficacy in the absence of serious side effects
The complex interplay between diverse group of nociceptive mediators, genetic imprint and environmental factors may determine the outcome of clinical etiology and progression of therapy
Patients with comorbid anxiety and/or depression due to chronic nociception may benefit from anxiolytic or antidepressant drugs (TCAs, SSRI and SNRI)

Summary

Introduction

Chronic pain symptoms account up to half of all health care visits, afflicts >10% of US adults, at a higher prevalence in women with current analgesic drugs rarely provide enough efficacy in the absence of serious side effects. The complex interplay between diverse group of nociceptive mediators, genetic imprint and environmental factors may determine the outcome of clinical etiology and progression of therapy. Current pharmacologic management of chronic pain has been notoriously difficult and unsatisfactory.

Results

Conclusion