Pain Inhibition in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Central Sensitivity Syndromes

Summary

Both patients with peripheral structural pathologies, like rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-patients, or patients with central sensitivity syndromes (CSS) suffer chronic pain. CSS are characterized by an increased responsiveness of central pain neurons. An impaired endogenous pain inhibition is already demonstrated in CSS. In the present study the investigators want to evaluate the efficacy of pain inhibition in response to physical stressors and whether the efficacy is opioid-mediated in two chronic pain populations (RA \& CCS) compared to controls. Therefore a triple-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) with cross-over design will be performed. The efficacy of wind-up of pain and spatial summation of pain is evaluated before and after a submaximal exercise, while the experimental group receives a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Participants are 20 RA-patients and 20 CSS-patients, more specific patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, and 30 healthy controls. This way, the investigators analyze how pain inhibition reacts on different types of physical stressors in different pain patients and if pain inhibition is opioid-mediated.

Timeline

Start

2010-09

Primary completion

2012-09

Completion

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Publications

• Meeus M, Hermans L, Ickmans K, Struyf F, Van Cauwenbergh D, Bronckaerts L, De Clerck LS, Moorken G, Hans G, Grosemans S, Nijs J. Endogenous pain modulation in response to exercise in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and comorbid fibromyalgia, and healthy controls: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Pain Pract. 2015 Feb;15(2):98-106. doi: 10.1111/papr.12181. Epub 2014 Feb 17.

Drugs

Indications