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Plasma Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Pain
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Plasma Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Pain

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Laboratory Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2022) | Viewed by 9830

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Bijar Ghafouri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
Interests: biomarkers; chronic pain; fibromyalgia; proteomic; metabolomic;
Dr. Karin Wåhlén

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
Interests: biomarkers; chronic pain; fibromyalgia; proteomic; immune system; bioinformatics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic pain conditions are multifaceted, and approximately 20% of the adult population lives with moderate to severe chronic pain intensity. These conditions are fundamentally characterized by a discrepancy between the degree of patient suffering and objective clinical findings. There is still a lack of assessment procedures based on activated neurobiological pain mechanisms, which may be a necessary step for further optimizing outcomes after treatments for patients with chronic pain. In this Special Issue, we invite researchers to contribute either original research or review articles focusing on new biomarkers in blood that are involved in the regulation of pain transmission in chronic pain conditions that can contribute to improving conventional treatments and eventually lead to the development of new pharmacological treatments, diagnostic tools, and management techniques for chronic pain.

Prof. Bijar Ghafouri
Dr. Karin Wåhlén
Guest Editors

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. Journal of Clinical Medicine 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

  • Biomarkers
  • Blood
  • Chronic pain
  • Molecular fingerprint
  • Omics
  • Precision medicine
  • Pain management
  • Plasma
  • Serum

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 705 KiB  
Article
Altered Plasma Proteins in Myogenous Temporomandibular Disorders
by Malin Ernberg, Hajer Jasim, Karin Wåhlén and Bijar Ghafouri
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(10), 2777; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11102777 - 14 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3012
Abstract
The aims of this study were (1) to compare the levels and interactions of several plasma proteins in patients with myogenous temporomandibular disorders (TMDM) compared to healthy and pain-free controls, (2) to compare the levels and interactions in two TMDM subgroups, myalgia (MYA) [...] Read more.
The aims of this study were (1) to compare the levels and interactions of several plasma proteins in patients with myogenous temporomandibular disorders (TMDM) compared to healthy and pain-free controls, (2) to compare the levels and interactions in two TMDM subgroups, myalgia (MYA) and myofascial pain (MFP), and (3) to explore associations between the proteins and clinical data. Thirty-nine patients with TMDM (MFP, n = 25, MYA, n = 14), diagnosed according to the diagnostic criteria for TMD (DC/TMD), aged 38 years, and sex-matched pain-free controls completed an extended DC/TMD Axis II questionnaire and the plasma concentration of 87 biomarkers were analyzed. Nine proteins separated TMDM from controls (p = 0.0174) and 12 proteins separated MYA from MFP (p = 0.019). Pain duration, characteristic pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, perceived stress, and insomnia severity were significantly associated with protein markers (p < 0.001 to p < 0.022). In conclusion, several plasma proteins were upregulated in TMDM and either upregulated or downregulated in MYA compared to MFP. Some proteins in TMDM were associated with pain variables, sleep disturbance, and emotional function. These results show that systemic differences in protein expression exist in patients with TMDM and that altered levels of specific plasma proteins are associated with different clinical variables. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Pain)
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12 pages, 567 KiB  
Article
Baseline Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Levels Moderate Psychological Inflexibility in Behavioral Treatment for Chronic Pain
by Bianka Karshikoff, Jenny Åström, Linda Holmström, Mats Lekander, Mike K. Kemani and Rikard K. Wicksell
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(9), 2285; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11092285 - 20 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2390
Abstract
Background: The medical and scientific communities struggle to understand chronic pain and find effective treatments. Multimodal approaches are encouraging but show significant individual differences. Methods: Seventy-eight persons (56 women) with chronic pain received Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and provided blood samples before and [...] Read more.
Background: The medical and scientific communities struggle to understand chronic pain and find effective treatments. Multimodal approaches are encouraging but show significant individual differences. Methods: Seventy-eight persons (56 women) with chronic pain received Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and provided blood samples before and after treatment. The participants completed surveys with the blood sampling. Blood plasma was analyzed for IL-6 and TNF-α levels with the Olink Inflammation Panel (Olink Bioscience Uppsala, Sweden). The treatment effects and moderating effects of low-grade inflammation on changes in outcomes were analyzed using linear mixed models. Results: Pain interference (p < 0.001) and psychological inflexibility (p < 0.001) improved significantly during treatment, but pain intensity did not (p = 0.078). Cytokine levels did not change over the course of the treatment (IL-6/TNF-α p = 0.086/0.672). Mean baseline levels of IL-6 and TNF-α moderated improvement in psychological inflexibility during the course of treatment (p = 0.044), but cytokine levels did not moderate changes in pain interference (p = 0.205) or pain intensity (p = 0.536). Conclusions: Higher baseline inflammation levels were related to less improvement in psychological inflexibility. Low-grade inflammation may be one factor underlying the variability in behavioral treatment in chronic pain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Pain)
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15 pages, 1058 KiB  
Article
DNA Methylation Changes in Fibromyalgia Suggest the Role of the Immune-Inflammatory Response and Central Sensitization
by Maria Carla Gerra, Davide Carnevali, Paolo Ossola, Alberto González-Villar, Inge Søkilde Pedersen, Yolanda Triñanes, Claudia Donnini, Matteo Manfredini, Lars Arendt-Nielsen and Maria Teresa Carrillo-de-la-Peña
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(21), 4992; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10214992 - 27 Oct 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3481
Abstract
Fibromyalgia (FM) has been explained as a result of gene-environment interactions. The present study aims to verify DNA methylation differences in eleven candidate genome regions previously associated to FM, evaluating DNA methylation patterns as potential disease biomarkers. DNA methylation was analyzed through bisulfite [...] Read more.
Fibromyalgia (FM) has been explained as a result of gene-environment interactions. The present study aims to verify DNA methylation differences in eleven candidate genome regions previously associated to FM, evaluating DNA methylation patterns as potential disease biomarkers. DNA methylation was analyzed through bisulfite sequencing, comparing 42 FM women and their 42 healthy sisters. The associations between the level of methylation in these regions were further explored through a network analysis. Lastly, a logistic regression model investigated the regions potentially associated with FM, when controlling for sociodemographic variables and depressive symptoms. The analysis highlighted significant differences in the GCSAML region methylation between patients and controls. Moreover, seventeen single CpGs, belonging to other genes, were significantly different, however, only one cytosine related to GCSAML survived the correction for multiple comparisons. The network structure of methylation sites was different for each group; GRM2 methylation represented a central node only for FM patients. Logistic regression revealed that depressive symptoms and DNA methylation in the GRM2 region were significantly associated with FM risk. Our study encourages better exploration of GCSAML and GRM2 functions and their possible role in FM affecting immune, inflammatory response, and central sensitization of pain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Pain)
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