Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis

Understanding of the causes and underlying mechanisms of pain in people with RA is rapidly changing. With the advent of more effective disease modifying drugs, joint inflammation is becoming a more treatable cause of pain, and joint damage can often be prevented. However, the long-term prognosis for...

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Main Authors: McWilliams, Daniel F., Walsh, David A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2017
Online Access:http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47605/
http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47605/
http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47605/1/mcwilliams%20walsh%20clin%20exp%20rheumatol%202017%20review.pdf
id nottingham-47605
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spelling nottingham-476052017-10-27T12:32:22Z http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47605/ Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis McWilliams, Daniel F. Walsh, David A. Understanding of the causes and underlying mechanisms of pain in people with RA is rapidly changing. With the advent of more effective disease modifying drugs, joint inflammation is becoming a more treatable cause of pain, and joint damage can often be prevented. However, the long-term prognosis for pain still is often unfavourable, even after inflammation is suppressed. Pain is associated with fatigue and psychological distress, and RA pain qualities often share characteristics with neuropathic pain. Each of these characteristics suggests key roles for central neuronal processing in RA pain. Pain processing by the central nervous system can maintain and augment RA pain, and is a promising target for future treatments. Inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, may provoke central pain sensitisation in animal models, and both local and systemic inflammation might contribute to central pain augmentation in RA. Controlled trials of treatments that target central pain processing have shown some benefit in people with RA, and might be most effective in individuals for whom central pain augmentation plays a key role. For people with RA who experience persistent pain, identifying underlying pain mechanisms critically determines the balance between escalation of anti-inflammatory and disease-modifying treatments and other strategies to provide symptomatic analgesia. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2017-10-20 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47605/1/mcwilliams%20walsh%20clin%20exp%20rheumatol%202017%20review.pdf McWilliams, Daniel F. and Walsh, David A. (2017) Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, 35 (S107). s94-s101. ISSN 1593-098X http://www.clinexprheumatol.org/search.asp?Title=Pain+mechanisms+in+rheumatoid+arthritis&INV=pback
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
language English
description Understanding of the causes and underlying mechanisms of pain in people with RA is rapidly changing. With the advent of more effective disease modifying drugs, joint inflammation is becoming a more treatable cause of pain, and joint damage can often be prevented. However, the long-term prognosis for pain still is often unfavourable, even after inflammation is suppressed. Pain is associated with fatigue and psychological distress, and RA pain qualities often share characteristics with neuropathic pain. Each of these characteristics suggests key roles for central neuronal processing in RA pain. Pain processing by the central nervous system can maintain and augment RA pain, and is a promising target for future treatments. Inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, may provoke central pain sensitisation in animal models, and both local and systemic inflammation might contribute to central pain augmentation in RA. Controlled trials of treatments that target central pain processing have shown some benefit in people with RA, and might be most effective in individuals for whom central pain augmentation plays a key role. For people with RA who experience persistent pain, identifying underlying pain mechanisms critically determines the balance between escalation of anti-inflammatory and disease-modifying treatments and other strategies to provide symptomatic analgesia.
format Article
author McWilliams, Daniel F.
Walsh, David A.
spellingShingle McWilliams, Daniel F.
Walsh, David A.
Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis
author_facet McWilliams, Daniel F.
Walsh, David A.
author_sort McWilliams, Daniel F.
title Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis
title_short Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis
title_full Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis
title_fullStr Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis
title_full_unstemmed Pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis
title_sort pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis
publisher Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology
publishDate 2017
url http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47605/
http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47605/
http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47605/1/mcwilliams%20walsh%20clin%20exp%20rheumatol%202017%20review.pdf
first_indexed 2018-09-06T13:54:31Z
last_indexed 2018-09-06T13:54:31Z
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