Health Related Quality of Life and Pain Characteristics Among Iranian Patients Suffering Non-Malignant Chronic Pain.

Health related quality of life and pain characteristics among Iranian patients suffering non-malignant chronic pain.

Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2012 Aug; 26(3): 118-124
Jameie SB, Shams-Hosseini NS, Janzadeh A, Sharifi M, Kerdari M

Chronic pain is a frequent disability that negatively affects patient’s quality of life. Understanding of the possible relation between sociodemographic and medical variables with Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) may help identifying the multidimensionality of pain and risk factors that limit physical and psychological adjustment of the patients. The present study was done to find these possible relationships, based on using Medical Outcomes Survey-Short Form (SF-36).Among the patients who were referred to pain clinic of Iranian Pain Society, 101 consecutive outpatients were select based on the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. All the participants in this study orally satisfied and were fully informed by a check list and SF-36 questionnaire. The possible impact of demographic variables, characteristics, diagnosis, analgesic use, smoking and opium addiction were collected as the first part of a routine pretreatment evaluation.Our findings showed significant relation between HRQL and gender (P < 0.05), the rate of chronic pain in female was higher than male, and same results found for elderly patients compared to younger ones. Our findings also showed significant relation between employment and intensity of pain (p = 0.001) as, employed patients showed less physical and psychotic problems than unemployed ones. The mean average of intensity of pain in these patients was 7.5±2.2; few patients used alcohol (4%), opium (1%) and cigarette (10%). Large number of participants used analgesic (%78.2). No significant difference between sociodemographic features with pain duration and quality of life was found. In contrast our data showed significant difference between pain intensity and quality of life (p < 0.001).Based on our findings it could be concluded that chronic pain in Iranian patients certainly leads to poor HRQL, the state is more serious in the elderly and female patients. Thus, in order to re-socialize the patients suffering chronic pain and decrease the impact of their pain on their life, these findings should be considered in any kind of pain relief therapy. HubMed – addiction

Estradiol as a Mechanism for Sex Differences in the Development of an Addicted Phenotype following Extended Access Cocaine Self-Administration.

Neuropsychopharmacology. 2013 Mar 12;
Ramôa CP, Doyle SE, Naim DW, Lynch WJ

Women progress more rapidly after initial cocaine use to addiction as compared to men. Similarly, female rats appear to require less cocaine exposure prior to developing an addicted phenotype with evidence implicating estradiol as a potential mechanism. The goals of this study were to determine whether there are sex differences in the magnitude of the addicted phenotype under optimized conditions that induce its development in both males and females and to determine the role of estradiol in this effect. Following acquisition, intact male and intact and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats with and without estradiol replacement were given access to cocaine (1.5?mg/kg/infusion) under either extended access (ExA; discrete trial procedure, 4 trials/hr, 24?hr/day, 10 days) or short access (ShA) conditions (20 infusions maximum/day, 3 days). Motivation to obtain cocaine (0.5 mg/kg/infusion), as assessed under a progressive-ratio schedule, was then examined following a two-week abstinence period. Results showed that following ExA self-administration both males and females developed an addicted phenotype, with 9 of 11 males and 8 of 10 females showing a greater than 15% increase in levels of motivation to obtain cocaine as compared to ShA controls. In contrast, within the OVX groups, responding was enhanced from control levels after ExA self-administration in estradiol-replaced rats only. These results suggest that while females may have an enhanced vulnerability to developing an addicted phenotype, they may be similar to males once addiction has developed. These results also suggest that estradiol is critically involved in the development of addicted phenotype in females.Neuropsychopharmacology accepted article preview online, 12 March 2013; doi:10.1038/npp.2013.68. HubMed – addiction

Role of dopamine D2 receptors in plasticity of stress-induced addictive behaviours.

Nat Commun. 2013 Mar 12; 4: 1579
Sim HR, Choi TY, Lee HJ, Kang EY, Yoon S, Han PL, Choi SY, Baik JH

Dopaminergic systems are implicated in stress-related behaviour. Here we investigate behavioural responses to chronic stress in dopamine D2 receptor knockout mice and find that anxiety-like behaviours are increased compared with wild-type mice. Repeated stress exposure suppresses cocaine-induced behavioural sensitization, cocaine-seeking and relapse behaviours in dopamine D2 receptor knockout mice. Cocaine challenge after drug withdrawal in cocaine-experienced wild-type or dopamine D2 receptor knockout mice is associated with inhibition of long-term depression in the nucleus accumbens, and chronic stress during withdrawal prevents inhibition after cocaine challenge in cocaine-experienced dopamine D2 receptor knockout mice, but not in wild-type mice. Lentiviral-induced knockdown of dopamine D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens of wild-type mice does not affect basal locomotor activity, but confers stress-induced inhibition of the expression of cocaine-induced behavioural sensitization. Stressed mice depleted of dopamine D2 receptors do not manifest long-term depression inhibition. Our results suggest that dopamine D2 receptors have roles in regulating synaptic modification triggered by stress and drug addiction. HubMed – addiction

Targeting Aurora kinase A suppresses the growth of human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo.

Oral Oncol. 2013 Mar 5;
Tanaka H, Nakashiro KI, Iwamoto K, Tokuzen N, Fujita Y, Shirakawa R, Oka R, Goda H, Hamakawa H

OBJECTIVES: Oncogene addiction has provided therapeutic opportunities in many human malignancies, but molecular targeted therapy for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is not yet available. In this study, we attempted to identify an appropriate target molecule for treatment of patients with OSCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Microarray analysis was performed to determine the gene expression profiles in nine human OSCC cell lines and a non-neoplastic keratinocyte cell line. The expression levels of Aurora kinase A (AURKA) mRNA and protein in human OSCC cells and tissues were examined. We investigated the effect of small interfering RNAs specific for AURKA (siAURKAs) and MLN8237, an AURKA selective inhibitor on the growth of OSCC cells in vitro and in vivo. We also analyzed clinical significance in AURKA mRNA expression levels in OSCC. RESULTS: AURKA was overexpressed in human OSCC cell lines and tissues. All siAURKAs almost completely suppressed the expression of AURKA protein, and significantly inhibited the growth of OSCC cells by 31-89%. MLN8237 also reduced the cellular growth rate by 38-74%. Both siAURKA and MLN8237 significantly reduced the size of subcutaneously xenografted OSCC tumors by 66% and 40%. Knockdown of AURKA expression and MLN8237 induced the growth inhibition of primary cultured cells established from patients’ OSCC tumors. Furthermore, we found a significant association between AURKA mRNA expression levels and histological differentiation and lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: AURKA plays a critical role in the growth of human OSCC cells and targeting AURKA may be a useful therapeutic strategy for OSCC. HubMed – addiction