BiotechMashup

Researchers have found that male partners who express greater support, attention and sympathy to women's chronic vulvovaginal pain may trigger more pain, but also increase sexual satisfaction in female partners.

(University of Montreal) Zen meditation has many health benefits, including a reduced sensitivity to pain. According to new research from the University of Montreal, meditators do feel pain but they simply don't dwell on it as much. These findings, published in the month's issue of Pain, may have implications for chronic pain sufferers, such as those with arthritis, back pain or cancer.

(Indiana University) A new study by sexual health researchers at Indiana University found that women who used lubricant during sex reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction and pleasure. The study, involving 2,453 women, is the largest systematic study of this kind, despite the widespread commercial availability of lubricant and the gaps in knowledge concerning its role in alleviating pain or contributing to other health issues. The study is published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

(Wiley-Blackwell) In the first study to look at sex-specific pain prevalence in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans, researchers from the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and the Yale University School of Medicine found women veterans had a lower prevalence of pain than male counterparts returning from the conflicts. Full details of the study appear in the October issue of Pain Medicine.

(Indiana University School of Medicine) In a study in the journal Pain Medicine, researchers from the Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University School of Medicine, the IU School of Liberal Arts and the Roudebush VA Medical Center report that chronic pain takes a toll on primary care providers as well as their patients. They conclude that providers' needs should not be ignored if pain care is to be improved

(University of Michigan Health System) Black patients are prescribed fewer pain medications than whites and few women receive medications strong enough to manage their chronic pain, according to a study in the August issue of Journal of Pain. University of Michigan Health System researchers found other racial and gender gaps in the pain care journey that suggests changes are needed beginning with primary care doctors.

Children who suffer from persistent or recurring chronic pain may miss school, withdraw from social activities, and are at risk of developing internalizing symptoms such as anxiety, in response to their pain. In the first comprehensive review of chronic pain in children and adolescents in 20 years, a group of researchers found that more children now are suffering from chronic pain and that girls suffer more frequently from chronic pain than boys.

(Elsevier Health Sciences) Children who suffer from persistent or recurring chronic pain may miss school, withdraw from social activities, and are at risk of developing internalizing symptoms such as anxiety, in response to their pain. In the first comprehensive review of chronic pain in children and adolescents in 20 years, a group of researchers found that more children now are suffering from chronic pain and that girls suffer more frequently from chronic pain than boys.

Pain is an important physiological function that protects our bodies from harm. Pain-sensing nerves transduce harmful stimuli into electrical signals and transmit this information to the brain via the spinal cord. A team of scientists has found a novel road-block in the pain pathway, which could be used to treat chronic pain.