Progress in Chronic Pain: Bridging Basic and Clinical Research
A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Diagnosis and Prognosis".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 27
Special Issue Editors
2. Biomedicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Interests: chronic pain; biomarkers in chronic pain; neurochemistry; pain-related cognitive im-pairments; neurophysiology; neuropathic pain; inflammatory pain
2. Biomedicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Interests: chronic pain; biomarkers in chronic pain; neurochemistry; pain-related cognitive impairments; neurophysiology; neuropathic pain; inflammatory pain
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Chronic pain, a complex and persistent condition lasting longer than three months, affects millions worldwide and significantly diminishes their quality of life. Over recent decades, scientific and clinical advancements have transformed our understanding of how chronic pain develops, persists, and manifests across individuals. In particular, the integration of advanced diagnostic techniques, including structural and functional neuroimaging, quantitative sensory testing, and molecular biomarker analysis, has revealed abnormal patterns of brain activity, altered connectivity, and systemic physiological dysregulation in affected individuals. These insights have led to the growing recognition of chronic pain not merely as a symptom, but as a distinct pathological condition of the nervous system, involving maladaptive neuroplasticity, neuroinflammation, and impaired emotional processing.
This expanding body of knowledge is reshaping the clinical landscape, enabling more precise characterization of pain phenotypes and supporting a multidisciplinary, systems-based approach to treatment. Medicine, biotechnology, and neuroengineering increasingly converge to address both the symptomatic and psychobiological dimensions of chronic pain. Such a paradigm shift facilitates earlier detection, better prognostic stratification, and more personalized, mechanism-targeted interventions that extend beyond temporary relief to long-term functional restoration.
This Special Issue aims to showcase recent advances in chronic pain research with direct relevance to clinical practice. We welcome original research articles, case studies, case reports, and reviews that explore the following topics: neurophysiological mechanisms and risk factors; diagnostic innovations; neuromodulation strategies; emerging pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies; digital health and wearable technologies; and personalized treatment approaches.
We look forward to your submissions.
Dr. Helder Cardoso-Cruz
Guest Editor
Dr. Clara Monteiro
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- chronic pain
- pain prevention
- new biomarkers in chronic pain
- personalized treatment approaches
- sensory and cognitive dimensions
- neuropathic pain
- inflammatory pain
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