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Back pain is the leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide, yet surprisingly, little is known regarding the biology underlying this condition. The impact of genetics is known for chronic back pain: its heritability is estimated to be at least 40%. Large genome-wide association studies have shown that common variation may account for up to 35% of chronic back pain heritability; rare variants may explain a portion of the heritability not explained by common variants. In this study, we performed the first gene-based association analysis of chronic back pain using UK Biobank imputed data including rare variants with moderate imputation quality. We discovered 2 genes, SOX5 and PANX3 , influencing chronic back pain. The SOX5 gene is a well-known back pain gene. The PANX3 gene has not previously been described as having a role in chronic back pain. We showed that the association of PANX3 with chronic back pain is driven by rare noncoding intronic polymorphisms. This result was replicated in an independent sample from UK Biobank and validated using a similar phenotype, dorsalgia, from FinnGen Biobank. We also found that the PANX3 gene is associated with intervertebral disk disorders. We can speculate that a possible mechanism of action of PANX3 on back pain is due to its effect on the intervertebral disks.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002781 | DOI Listing |
J Natl Med Assoc
September 2025
Communication Equity Outcomes Laboratory, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Importance: Significant advancements have been made in the management of sickle cell disease (SCD); an inherited blood disorder most prevalent among African Americans. While chronic pain is a hallmark of SCD and has been the primary focus of treatment, contemporary literature highlights the potential presence of developmental issues related to speech, language, neurocognitive, and auditory abilities that are often overlooked in SCD management.
Observations: This paper explores the spectrum of communication-related challenges that specifically affect children with SCD and fall within the scope of practice for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists (AUDs).
Br J Anaesth
September 2025
Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China; Department of Pain Management, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. Electronic address: 45285184@qq
Omega (Westport)
September 2025
Departamento de Bienestar y Salud, Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Uruguay.
A qualitative study using in-depth interviews was conducted to identify the level of knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions of family members and healthcare workers regarding the use of morphine as a pain treatment for individuals at the end of life. The study included healthcare professionals and caregivers of individuals who had died from serious illnesses affiliated with a rural health center in an inland city in the western region of Uruguay between August 2021 and June 2022. The findings may contribute to understanding the determinants that influence opioid use in healthcare centers lacking access to specialized palliative care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Infect Dis
September 2025
SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontei
Background: Mycobacterium simiae is a slow-growing environmental nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM), commonly isolated from soil and water. M. simiae is not known to transmit zoonotically or via human-to-human contact; infection is presumed to occur through direct environmental exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuron
September 2025
Shanghai Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:
Existing treatments for chronic pain often prove ineffective and carry adverse side effects, highlighting the need for better analgesics, including non-pharmacological treatments. We demonstrate that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), when repeatedly applied during the early phase of nerve injury in mice, produces sustained analgesic effects by activating the dorsal column nucleus (DCN)-thalamic-cortical pathway, which transmits vibration, discriminative touch, and proprioception. Mechanistically, TENS selectively activates glutamatergic neurons in the DCN (DCN) via exciting Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors (Aβ-LTMRs) in dorsal root ganglia (DRGs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF