Idiopathic Headache as a Possible Risk Factor for Phantom Tooth Pain

Following tooth pulp extirpation, some subjects suffer from persistent pain which affects edentate sites in absence of any local pathology. As regards this peculiar pain, called phantom tooth pain (PTP), what is puzzling is the fact there is a low prevalence of PTP in a very large population showing identical conditions of tooth pulp extirpation. The present investigation indicates that PTP mainly affects migraine (M) and cluster headache (CH) sufferers, whereas it does not affect subjects who have a negative personal and family history for idiopathic headache (IH). These results circumscribe the presence of PTP to a specific section of the population. The present results, besides indicating that PTP may be the result of a peculiar neuronal predisposition relating to IH pathogenesis, suggests some practical therapeutic hints. In fact, successful anti- M and anti-CH prophylactic treatment greatly improve PTP syndrome.     

不同低浓度罗哌卡因低位硬膜外镇痛对运动神经阻滞的临床观察

目的 观察不同低浓度罗哌卡因（ropivacaine,Rop）低位硬膜外镇痛对运动神经的阻滞作用。探讨罗哌卡因低位硬膜外镇痛的最佳药物浓度。方法 随机选择我院67例下腹部择期手术患者，术后随机分为5个治疗组（A、B、C、D、E）和一个对照组（F），3h后硬膜外腔用药。前5组使用不同浓度罗哌卡因（A：0.1%;B:0.15%;C:0.2%;D:0.25%;E:0.3%），F组使用0.9%生理盐水。注药前后20分钟分别观察、记录以下项目：1.视觉模拟评分（Visual analogue scale,VAS）；2.阻滞区运动神经反射；3. 下肢指令运动。结果 不同低浓度罗哌卡因均有程度不同的术后镇痛作用。对运动神经的阻滞作用A、B、C三组与对照组无显著性差异（P＞0.05），而D、E两组有显著性差异（P＜0.05）。结论 选择浓度为0.2%的罗哌卡因低位硬膜外镇痛既可以有效地发挥术后镇痛作用，又最大程度地减少了对运动神经的阻滞作用，有利患者术后恢复。     

腹部大血管病变的3D DCE-MRA诊断

目的 阐述3D动态增强磁共振血管造影（three-dimensional　dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiog-raphy,3D DCE-MRA）的原理及其在腹部大血管病变诊断中的价值。方法搜集32例腹部大血管3D DCE-MRA检查的影像资料,对其影像表现进行回顾性分析。结果（1）团注试验:对比剂通过肾动脉水平腹主动脉内的高峰时间为17-23s;（2）正常表现3例,清晰显示腹主动脉及其分支;（3）腹主动脉瘤7例,均显示主动脉受累段不规则增宽及实际的动脉腔;（4）腹主动脉夹层18例,均显示内膜片、真假两腔以及分支动脉起源的位置,显示破口12处、再破口16处;（5）动脉粥样硬化3例,均显示腹主动脉迂曲,管径粗细不均;（6）髂总静脉血栓形成1例,左髂总静脉未显影。结论3DDCE-MRA是一种非损伤性血管成像技术,对腹部大血管病变的诊断有重要意义。     

Randomised trial of long term effect of acupuncture for shoulder pain

Guerra de Hoyos JA, Andres Martin Mdel C, Bassas y Baena de Leon E, Vigara Lopez M, Molina Lopez T, Verdugo Morilla FA, Gonzalez Moreno MJ. Pain. 2004 Dec;112(3): 289-98.The objective of the study is to compare the efficacy of electro-acupuncture with placebo-acupuncture for the treatment of shoulder pain. This study comprised of a prospective, randomized, placebo controlled trial, with independent evaluator set in a Public primary care clinic in Spain. The participants are patients aged from 25 to 83 years with shoulder pain. Patients were randomly allocated to two treatments over eight weeks, with electro-acupuncture or skin non-penetrating placebo-acupuncture, both able to take diclofenac if needed for intense pain. Primary outcome measure was the difference between groups in pain intensity (visual analogue scale – VAS). Secondary outcomes were differences between groups in pain intensity measured by Lattinen index, in range of motion (goniometer), functional ability (SPADI), quality of life (COOP-WONCA charts), NSAIDS intake, credibility (Borkoveck and Nau scale) and global satisfaction (10 points analogue scale). Assessments were performed before, during and three and six months after treatment. At six month follow-up after treatment the acupuncture group showed a significantly greater improvement in pain intensity compared with the control group [VAS mean difference 2.0 (95 % CI 1.2–2.9)]. The acupuncture group had consistently better results in every secondary outcome measure than the control group. Acupuncture is an effective long-term treatment for patients with shoulder pain (from soft tissues lesions) in a primary care setting. q2004 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.     

Discrimination of idiopathic pain syndromes from neurogenic pain syndromes and healthy volunteers by means of clinical rating,personality traits,monoamine metabolites in CSF,serum cortisol,platelet MAO and urinary melatonin

Summary The aim of the present study was to investigate the discriminative power of a series of variables (including determination of depressive symptomatology by means of a visual analogue scale, determination of personality traits by means of the Karolinska Scales of Personality, determination of monoamine metabolites in CSF, platelet MAO activities, serum cortisol before and after dexamethasone suppression and urinary melatonin) in differentiating (a) chronic pain patients from healthy subjects, and (b) patients with idiopathic pain syndromes from patients with neurogenic pain syndromes. Separately each of the measures gave a significant but often low contribution to the discrimination, while a combination of several measures gave a complete discrimination both between healthy subjects and patients with chronic pain syndromes and between patients with idiopathic and neurogenic pain syndromes, respectively.Supported in part by grants from the Swedish Medical Research Council (grants no. 3371, 4145 and 5740) and by a grant from Stiftelsen Söderström-Königska Sjukhemmet     

Counterfactual (‘if only’) thinking in women with chronic widespread pain

The study explored the counterfactual thinking that women with chronic and widespread pain showed in response to what they themselves considered to be particularly stressful situations. Counterfactual thinking in 125 women sick‐listed due to chronic and widespread pain was investigated in terms of structure, function and control focus. The women were asked, for each of three types of problems that they indicated in a questionnaire to affect them most strongly, to describe a typical occurrence of it and to complete a counterfactual sentence in connection with it of the type ‘If only . . .’. The majority of counterfactuals pertained to predominantly somatic problems (e.g. musculo‐skeletal problems, pain and fatigue) classified as being affective rather than preparative and self‐focused rather than external, whereas in counterfactuals relating to predominantly psychological/psychosocial problems a preparative function and an external focus were more prominent. The numbers of problems listed and the numbers of situations responded to counterfactually were positively correlated. The counterfactuals, although often related to somatic problems, generally concerned psychological or psychosocial matters such as finances and paid or unpaid work. A contextual approach to elucidating counterfactual thinking based on subjects' own experiences is seen as providing valuable insight into what bothers them most. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Correspondence analysis as a screening method for indicants for clinical diagnosis

In clinical diagnosis, a patient's symptoms are observed and the probabilities of various diseases are assessed. A widely used method of formalizing this approach is independent Bayes in which symptoms are assumed to be independent conditional on the disease category. Correspondence analysis provides a method for examining the dependence between symptoms and assists in the selection of a reduced set of symptoms for the application of the independent Bayes method. This approach is illustrated on two data sets concerned with patients attending Accident and Emergency departments with chest pain and acute abdominal pain, respectively.     

Muscular activation patterns of healthy persons and low back pain patients performing a functional capacity evaluation test

The results of most reported studies show differences between the muscular activity of low back pain patients and healthy subjects, but the focus has usually been on trunk muscles only, and they have not involved work-related tests or exercises. The reintegration of chronic low back pain patients to job market is a common problem. Therefore assessment systems like the functional capacity evaluation (FCE) according to Isernhagen [S.J. Isernhagen, Work Injury: Management and Prevention, Aspen Publishers Inc., Gaithersburg, MD, 1988] are often used tools to determine the physical abilities and deficits of long-time incapacitated persons. The aim of the present study was to compare the healthy persons and chronic low back pain patients in performing a FCE-test and to analyse their muscular activation and motion patterns. The results indicate differences in the activation patterns of the groups in the test task “floor to waist lift” common in many occupations.