Biomedical subjects

Pierre Arsenault

Publications and source records attributed to Pierre Arsenault.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

A new application of sound resonance technology therapy for the treatment of fibromyalgia: a retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Chart review to evaluate the effectiveness of a three-phase sound resonance technology therapy (SRTT) protocol for the treatment of fibromyalgia. RESULTS: Initial FIQ scores of 159 consecutive patients ranged from 24 to 80 (mean=58). After Phase 1, ( approximately 1 month into the protocol), FIQ scores had decreased on average by 26 points (n=128, 95% CI 23-30, p<.001). After phase 3 of the protocol 53 patients completed an FIQ questionnaire and the mean decrease in FIQ score was 38 points (95% CI 32-44, p=.004). CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective analysis suggests considerable and rapid relief of the symptoms of fibromyalgia following the use of the three-phase SRTT treatment protocol, which appears to be maintained over several years. Although these results are not conclusive they are remarkable as no other therapy reported in the scientific literature seems as efficacious for fibromyalgia. A follow-up study using an RCT design is warranted.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2005

Specificity of female and male sex hormones on excitatory and inhibitory phases of formalin-induced nociceptive responses.

Several factors have been proposed to account for the differences observed between men and women in pain perception. One of these is female and male gonadal hormones. In order to verify this assumption, a hormone replacement (pellets inserted subcutaneously) of (1) 17beta-estradiol, (2) progesterone, (3) 17beta-estradiol + progesterone or (4) testosterone have been performed in gonadectomized female and male Sprague-Dawley rats. Twenty-one days after the hormonal replacement, a formalin test was performed. The nociceptive responses were divided in three distinct phases: acute (phase I), inhibitory (interphase) and tonic (phase II). After analysis, we observed that testosterone has a hypoalgesic effect on phases I and II of the formalin test. At the opposite, female hormones act only on the interphase: the combination of 17beta-estradiol and progesterone in gonadectomized rats reestablishes the weaker nociceptive pain reduction during the interphase as it is observed in the intact female. These effects were not gender specific since they had the same action in female and male. Our results permit to believe that testosterone plays a protective role in pain perception. Moreover, the female hormones act mainly on pain inhibition mechanisms (interphase), suggesting that the prevalence of certain chronic pain conditions in women could be related to a deficit of these pain inhibitory mechanisms rather than an increased nociceptive activity.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2005

Widespread pain in fibromyalgia is related to a deficit of endogenous pain inhibition.

A deficit of endogenous pain inhibitory systems has been suggested to contribute to some chronic pain conditions, one of them being fibromyalgia. The aim of the investigation was to test whether endogenous pain inhibitory systems were activated by a spatial summation procedure in 30 fibromyalgia, 30 chronic low back pain, and 30 healthy volunteers who participated in a cross-over trial (two sessions). Each session consisted of visual analog scale ratings of pain during the immersion of different surfaces of the arm in circulating noxious cold (12 degrees C) water. The arm was arbitrarily divided into eight segments from the fingertips to the shoulder. One session was ascending (from the fingertips to the shoulder) and the other was descending (from the shoulder to the fingertips); they included eight consecutive 2-min immersions separated by 5-min resting periods. For healthy and low back pain subjects, pain was perceived differently during the ascending and descending sessions (P=0.0001). The descending session resulted in lower pain intensity and unpleasantness. This lowering of the perception curve seems to be due to a full recruitment of inhibitory systems at the beginning of the descending session as opposed to a gradual recruitment during the ascending session. For fibromyalgia subjects, no significant differences were found between the increasing and decreasing sessions (P>0.05). These data support a deficit of endogenous pain inhibitory systems in fibromyalgia but not in chronic low back pain. The treatments proposed to fibromyalgia patients should aim at stimulating the activity of those endogenous systems.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The role of sex hormones on formalin-induced nociceptive responses.

Many chronic pain conditions are more frequent in women than in men. This observation suggests that there is a potential role of sex hormones on pain perception. In the present study, we measured nociceptive responses to the formalin test in normal and gonadectomized male and female rats. The nociceptive responses to formalin injection were divided in four phases: acute (phase I), interphase and late phases (phases II and III). Four groups of rats were tested: (a) males (n = 15), (b) females (n = 16), (c) ovariectomized females (OVX) (n = 15) and (d) castrated males (CAST) (n = 15). Females presented significantly more nociceptive responses than males during phase I, interphase and phase II (P < 0.01). They also presented significantly more nociceptive responses than OVX females during the interphase (P < 0.05). CAST males presented significantly more nociceptive responses during the phases I (P < 0.01), II (P < 0.01) and III (P < 0.05) than the male rats. Finally, the responses of CAST males and OVX females were virtually identical, suggesting that the differences recorded between males and females in the formalin test were related to an activational effect of the sex hormones rather than an organizational effect. In conclusion, these results permit the support of the role of sex hormones on the modulation of pain perception. Interestingly, male and female sex hormones seem to act specifically on the different phases of the formalin test, suggesting some specific roles for sex hormones in different pain conditions.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Odors modulate pain perception: a gender-specific effect.

Odors naturally provoke emotions that are pleasant or unpleasant. Prior studies have demonstrated the effects of pleasing odors on cognition and mood perception, but no studies have reported if they influence pain perception. In the present study, we measured the effect of, and relationship between, different odors on mood and experimental pain perception. Results show that odors significantly influence mood in both women and men. Compared to a neutral odor, pleasant odors produced a positive mood while unpleasant odors produced a negative mood. However, the effect of odor on pain was gender specific, as only women experienced the effects of odor on pain perception. Because no relationship was found between mood and pain perception, it could suggest that different mechanisms are involved in the emotional aspects of mood and pain perception. These results and their potential clinical implications are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Spatial summation for pain perception: interaction of inhibitory and excitatory mechanisms.

To study the relation between size of the surface stimulated and perceived pain intensity (spatial summation effect), subjects sequentially immersed predetermined segments of the surface of their arm, between the fingertips and the shoulder, in circulating nociceptive hot water. Immersion sessions were of three types: (i) increasing session (immersion beginning at fingertips and increasing to shoulder); (ii) decreasing session (immersion beginning at shoulder and decreasing to fingertips); and (iii) whole arm+increasing session (preliminary immersion of the whole arm up to shoulder, followed by an increasing session from fingertips to shoulder). Results showed a positive spatial summation effect (pain perception positively correlated to the size of the surface stimulated) during both the decreasing session and the whole arm+increasing session. However, no spatial summation effect was found during the increasing session (fingertips to shoulder). In addition, pain perceived for a surface area was less intense during the decreasing session compared to the increasing session. One possible explanation for the lack of a spatial summation effect during the increasing session is that inhibitory mechanisms are gradually recruited at the same time as excitatory afferences, thus 'cancelling out' any measurable spatial summation effect. The results obtained during the decreasing session and the whole arm+increasing session may be explained by inhibitory mechanisms being fully recruited at the beginning of the session with the immersion of the largest surface area (whole arm). The results are a shift of the pain perception curve and a positive relation between the surface stimulated and pain perception.

Adolescent↗