Anti- and Pro-Nociceptive mechanisms in neuropathic pain after human spinal cord injury

This study investigates how the body's natural pain control systems work in people with nerve pain after a spinal cord injury. The researchers looked at two specific processes: how the body inhibits pain (anti-nociception) and how it amplifies pain (pro-nociception). They found that the intensity of spontaneous neuropathic pain is associated with the subject's position on the spectrum from pain inhibition to facilitation.

• 1
  The study found no significant difference in overall pain inhibition or pain amplification between individuals with spinal cord injury-related neuropathic pain and healthy controls when testing above the level of the lesion.
• 2
  Subjects with more intense spontaneous neuropathic pain exhibited lower inhibitory conditioned pain modulation (CPM) capacity, suggesting a relationship between pain severity and the effectiveness of the body's pain modulation system.
• 3
  The study highlights the relevance of spontaneous neuropathic pain intensity with regards to the capacity of endogenous pain modulation in SCI subjects.