Erik Torebjörk, MD PhD, Professor of Clinical Pain Research 1939–2021 Forerunner and lead researcher of human nociceptor research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermann Handwerker ◽  
Ellen Jørum ◽  
Wolfgang Schady ◽  
Robert LaMotte ◽  
Martin Schmelz
Keyword(s):  
Pain Research ◽  
Clinical Pain

Ethics in Neonatal Pain Research

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 492-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Axelin ◽  
Sanna Salanterä
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Ethical Review ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Pain Research ◽  
Neonatal Pain ◽  
Clinical Pain ◽  
Parental Informed Consent

A literature review of 98 articles concerning clinical pain research in newborn infants was conducted to evaluate how researchers report the ethical issues related to their studies and how journals guide this reporting. The articles were published in 49 different scientific journals. The ethical issues most often mentioned were parental informed consent (94%) and ethical review approval (87%). In 75% of the studies the infants suffered pain during the research when placebo, no treatment or otherwise inadequate pain management was applied. Discussion about benefits versus harm to research participants was lacking. A quarter of the journals did not have any ethical guidelines for submitted manuscripts. We conclude that ethical considerations did not play a significant role in the articles studied. Missing and superficial guidelines enable authors to offer studies with fragile research ethics.

941 USEFULNESS OF THE NETHERLANDS CLASSIFICATION OF PAIN (NCP) IN CLINICAL PAIN RESEARCH

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (S1) ◽  
pp. S244-S244
Author(s):  
M.J. Leeuwen ◽  
L.M. Frederix-Wolters ◽  
B.J. Crul ◽  
P.F. Vries Robbé
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Pain Research ◽  
Clinical Pain

scholarly journals A refinement to the formalin test in mice

F1000Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 891
Author(s):  
Douglas M Lopes ◽  
Heather L Cater ◽  
Matthew Thakur ◽  
Sara Wells ◽  
Stephen B McMahon
Keyword(s):  
Initial Phase ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Formalin Test ◽  
Late Phase ◽  
Ethical Standards ◽  
Improved Method ◽  
Pain Research ◽  
Clinical Pain ◽  
Transgenic Lines ◽  
Nociceptive Behaviour

The constant refinement of tests used in animal research is crucial for the scientific community. This is particularly true for the field of pain research, where ethical standards are notably sensitive. The formalin test is widely used in pain research and some of its mechanisms resemble those underlying clinical pain in humans. Immediately upon injection, formalin triggers two waves (an early and a late phase) of strong, nociceptive behaviour, characterised by licking, biting, lifting and shaking the injected paw of the animal. Although well characterised at the behaviour level, since its proposal over four decades ago, there has not been any significant refinement to the formalin test, especially those combining minimisation of animal distress and preservation of behavioural outcomes of the test.  Here, we propose a modified and improved method for the formalin test. We show that anaesthetising the animal with the inhalable anaesthetic sevoflurane at the time of the injection can produce reliable, robust and reproducible results whilst animal distress during the initial phase is reduced. Importantly, our results were validated by pharmacological suppression of the behaviour during the late phase of the test with gabapentin, the anaesthetic showing no interference with the drug. In addition, we demonstrate that this is also a useful method to screen for changes in pain behaviour in response to formalin in transgenic lines.

Patient-Controlled Analgesia In Clinical Pain Research Measurement

1988 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 254 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAUREEN GIUFFRE ◽  
ANNE KEANE ◽  
SUSAN M. HATFIELD ◽  
WILHELMINA KOREVAAR
Keyword(s):  
Patient Controlled Analgesia ◽  
Pain Research ◽  
Clinical Pain

Experimental design and reporting standards for improving the internal validity of pre-clinical studies in the field of pain: Consensus of the IMI-Europain consortium

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.L. Knopp ◽  
C. Stenfors ◽  
C. Baastrup ◽  
A.W. Bannon ◽  
M. Calvo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Publication Bias ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Random Allocation ◽  
Reporting Standards ◽  
Pain Research ◽  
Clinical Pain ◽  
Flow Diagrams

AbstractBackground and aimsPain is a subjective experience, and as such, pre-clinical models of human pain are highly simplified representations of clinical features. These models are nevertheless critical for the delivery of novel analgesics for human pain, providing pharmacodynamic measurements of activity and, where possible, on-target confirmation of that activity. It has, however, been suggested that at least 50% of all pre-clinical data, independent of discipline, cannot be replicated. Additionally, the paucity of “negative” data in the public domain indicates a publication bias, and significantly impacts the interpretation of failed attempts to replicate published findings. Evidence suggests that systematic biases in experimental design and conduct and insufficiencies in reporting play significant roles in poor reproducibility across pre-clinical studies. It then follows that recommendations on how to improve these factors are warranted.MethodsMembers of Europain, a pain research consortium funded by the European Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), developed internal recommendations on how to improve the reliability of pre-clinical studies between laboratories. This guidance is focused on two aspects: experimental design and conduct, and study reporting.ResultsMinimum requirements for experimental design and conduct were agreed upon across the dimensions of animal characteristics, sample size calculations, inclusion and exclusion criteria, random allocation to groups, allocation concealment, and blinded assessment of outcome. Building upon the Animals in Research: Reportingin vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines, reporting standards were developed for pre-clinical studies of pain. These include specific recommendations for reporting on ethical issues, experimental design and conduct, and data analysis and interpretation. Key principles such as sample size calculation, a priori definition of a primary efficacy measure, randomization, allocation concealments, and blinding are discussed. In addition, considerations of how stress and normal rodent physiology impact outcome of analgesic drug studies are considered. Flow diagrams are standard requirements in all clinical trials, and flow diagrams for preclinical trials, which describe number of animals included/excluded, and reasons for exclusion are proposed. Creation of a trial registry for pre-clinical studies focused on drug development in order to estimate possible publication bias is discussed.ConclusionsMore systematic research is needed to analyze how inadequate internal validity and/or experimental bias may impact reproducibility across pre-clinical pain studies. Addressing the potential threats to internal validity and the sources of experimental biases, as well as increasing the transparency in reporting, are likely to improve preclinical research broadly by ensuring relevant progress is made in advancing the knowledge of chronic pain pathophysiology and identifying novel analgesics.ImplicationsWe are now disseminating these Europain processes for discussion in the wider pain research community. Any benefit from these guidelines will be dependent on acceptance and disciplined implementation across pre-clinical laboratories, funding agencies and journal editors, but it is anticipated that these guidelines will be a first step towards improving scientific rigor across the field of pre-clinical pain research.

scholarly journals Genes, molecules and patients—Emerging topics to guide clinical pain research

2013 ◽  
Vol 716 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 188-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shafaq Sikandar ◽  
Ryan Patel ◽  
Sital Patel ◽  
Sanam Sikander ◽  
David L.H. Bennett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Research ◽  
Clinical Pain ◽  
Emerging Topics

S263 PAIN RESEARCH FORUM: AN INTERACTIVE WEB COMMUNITY FOR BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL PAIN RESEARCHERS

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 240
Author(s):  
P. McCaffrey ◽  
S. Das ◽  
S. Corlosquet ◽  
N. Maloney ◽  
M. Talkington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Research ◽  
Clinical Pain ◽  
Web Community
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