Differences in serum cortisol concentrations in organic and psychogenic chronic pain syndromes.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
F Johansson
Publications and source records attributed to F Johansson.
Circannual variation in concentrations of endorphins in cerebrospinal fluid.
In a series of 90 patients with chronic pain syndromes of psychogenic and organic etiology, the concentrations of fraction I endorphins in cerebrospinal fluid were investigated. A significant circannual variation in the concentrations of endorphins was found, with the highest concentrations in January-February and the lowest concentrations in July-August. There was no corresponding seasonal variation with regard to age, sex, bodylength, possible etiology of the pain syndrome self-rated pain levels, or experimental pain measures. Circannual difference in the intensity of symptoms in chronic pain syndromes and in affective disorders have been described in the literature. The present results suggest an association between these observations, giving further support for functional importance of endorphins in chronic pain.
Adult↗
Personality factors related to the outcome of treatment with transcutaneous nerve stimulation.
Personality factors are known to influence the augmenting/reducing tendency in evoked potentials and also the results obtained from pain-relieving methods in chronic pain conditions. In this study 30 chronic pain patients treated with high frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation were evaluated by means of personality inventories and visual evoked potentials (VEP). The results indicate that the group for whom the treatment had a positive outcome had an augmenting tendency in VEP and also significantly differed as regards certain factors in the EPI (high values in the L scale) and the CMPS (high values in factors I, II, IX, X and index I, V) personality inventories.
Achievement↗
Relationships between CSF levels of endorphins and monoamine metabolites in chronic pain patients.
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Adult↗
Changes in endorphins and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in cerebrospinal fluid as a result of treatment with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (zimelidine) in chronic pain patients.
Both the endorphin and the serotonin systems seem to be involved in pain perception, and a significant positive correlation between the levels of endorphins and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been established. In the present study, 20 chronic pain patients were treated with zimelidine, a rather selective inhibitor of serotonin reuptake, or placebo. Zimelidine produced a significant pain relief and a significant reduction of the levels of endorphins and 5-HIAA in CSF, while no significant changes occurred during placebo treatment. The results indicate that both the endorphin and the serotonin systems are involved in pain perception and that the systems are functionally related.
Adult↗
Predictors for the outcome of treatment with high frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in patients with chronic pain.
Seventy-two patients suffering from chronic pain were treated with high frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (hi-TNS). Significant predictors for a positive result were pains of neurogenic origin and pains located mainly in the extremities. CSF endorphin levels were determined for 22 patients with organic pain and the group with positive results from the treatment had somewhat (but not significantly) lower levels of fraction I endorphins. Age, sex or reported severity of pain had no predictive value.
Electric Stimulation Therapy↗
Changes in the augmenter-reducer tendency and in pain measures as a result of treatment with a serotonin-reuptake inhibitor--zimelidine.
In patients suffering from chronic pain, visual evoked potentials (VEP) and pain measures (PM) were investigated before and after a 4-week, double-blind controlled study of a new, rather selective, serotonin-reuptake inhibitor, Zimelidine, versus placebo. Before the trial most of the patients showed an augmenter response in VEP which means that the maximum amplitude of the evoked potential increased when stimulus intensity increased. After treatment most of the patients in the Zimelidine group revealed a reducer response, i.e. the maximum amplitude of the evoked potential decreased despite the increase of stimulus intensity, while no significant changes occurred in the placebo group. Only small and mostly insignificant changes were noted in PM. The results indicate that the augmenter-reducer response in VEP may be a useful measurement for following changes in the serotoninergic pathways in CNS. The results also indicate that treatment with Zimelidine may result in a decreased sensitivity to noxious stimulation that should be reflected in relief of clinical pain syndromes.
Adult↗
Visual evoked potentials as a predictor of reported side effects during a trial of zimelidine vs. placebo in chronic pain patients.
Before a double-blind controlled study of zimelidine, a new, rather specific inhibitor of serotonin uptake, in patients with chronic pain, visual evoked potentials (EPs) to stimuli of varying intensities were recorded. During the trial the blood levels of zimelidine and its active metabolite norzimelidine were estimated. Side effects were rated by a physician before and after the trial. No significant difference in frequency of side effects could be found between the zimelidine and the placebo groups. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between the blood levels of the active drug or its metabolite and the frequency of side effects. Instead, a significant relationship was found in the total group between the frequency of side effects and the tendency to react with an increase in maximum amplitude of the EP when stimulus intensity was increased (i.e., augmenting). The same trend was clear both in the zimelidine group and in the placebo group. Thus the augmenting/reducing response in visual EPs seems to be a predictor of the side effects reported irrespective of the drugs given.
Adult↗
Personality traits in chronic pain patients related to endorphin levels in cerebrospinal fluid.
Interindividual differences in endorphin levels may relate to widespread changes in adaptive processes, and endorphin levels may thus be related to personality traits. In 40 patients with chronic pain syndromes of both psychogenic and organic origin, endorphin levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were determined, and the patients completed Eysenck's Personality Inventory (EPI) and the Cesarek Marke Personality Scheme. Twenty-seven of the patients also completed the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). As a comparison group 30 healthy volunteers completed the personality inventories. The chronic pain patients were characterized by guilt feelings, need for order, low need for autonomy, and low tendency toward sensation seeking. Low levels of endorphins in CSF were found in patients with high scores on all the subscales in the SSS and low scores on the neuroticism subscale in the EPI.
Adult↗
Endorphins in CSF of chronic pain patients, in relation to augmenting-reducing response in visual averaged evoked response.
In 45 consecutive patients with chronic pain, visual averaged evoked responses (VAER) and the levels of fraction 1 endorphins in CSF were investigated. Patients with an augmenter response in VAER, i.e. the maximum amplitude increases when stimulus intensity is increased, were found to have significantly lower levels of fraction 1 endorphins than patients with a reducer response, i.e. the maximum amplitude in VAER decreases when stimulus intensity is increased. The results indicate that the endorphins function as endogenous antinociceptive factors.
Adult↗
Prophylactic lithium and personality variables. An international collaborative study.
61 patients - 28 suffering from bipolar, and 33 from unipolar psychotic affective disorders - completed two personality inventories, one before and one about 6 months after starting lithium treatment to prevent relapses. On the basis of empirical observations it had been assumed that personality characteristics would change more in bipolar than in unipolar patients and that these changes would concern mainly those personality characteristics which reflect sociability and impulsivity. The inventories used were the EPI and the MNT. The results were in agreement with the predictions. Moreover, a significant decrease in N-scores was found both in bipolar and unipolar patients. It is assumed that these changes reflect both the therapeutic effect of lithium and an effect upon the personality characteristics of patients who suffer from bipolar or unipolar affective disorders.
Adult↗
The DRAG test: an assay for detection of genotoxic damage.
A high throughput assay (the DRAG test) is described, which could be a useful tool for the detection of repairable DNA adducts, and which is based on the inhibition of the growth of DNA repair-deficient Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The cytotoxicity of a test substance towards DNA repair-deficient CHO cell lines is compared with the corresponding cytotoxicity in the parental wild-type CHO cell line (AA8). A more pronounced toxicity toward a DNA repair-deficient cell line is interpreted as being the consequence of its inability to repair the DNA adduct induced by the compound. (+)-7beta,8alpha-Dihydroxy-9alpha,10alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene, camptothecin, ethyl methanesulphonate and mitomycin C were used as reference substances, and the overall results indicate that the DRAG test could be useful in the screening of compounds for the production of repairable DNA adducts. The main advantages with the DRAG test are that it provides a relevant endpoint, it is rapid, it requires small amounts of the test item, and it permits a large number of compounds to be tested.
7,8-Dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene 9,10-oxide↗