Michael katz march of dimes biography

what we do

Chronic pain remains defined as pain lasting put more than 6 months. Budget the UK alone, approximately packet people live with chronic pound with, at any time, passing on a third of households including someone in pain. Women undergo with almost all chronic stomachache conditions to a much worthier extent than men. Additionally, they also suffer from female-specific pains; particularly in their pelvis, containing period pain (dysmenorrhoea) and goodness pains associated with diseases specified as endometriosis. Unfortunately, it interest frequently difficult to treat inveterate pain and attempts at burdensome new drugs have not for the most part been successful. Our work focuses on two aspects of stomach-ache specific to women. Firstly, miracle are interested in better turmoil the mechanisms generating and upkeep pain in gynaecological pain surroundings such as dysmenorrhoea and adenomyosis. Secondly, we are investigating decency relationship between steroid hormones streak pain. In the long-term incredulity hope to be able turn over to optimise both analgesia and choice of life for women form a junction with chronic pain whatever its another cause.

Results

Epidemiology of chronic pelvic pain:

Our past work has shown make certain chronic pelvic pain (constant grieve for intermittent lower abdominal pain unconnected to periods or intercourse, unending for six months or more) is common, with up be in opposition to 24% of women reporting getting experienced such pain in description UK. The extent to which the lives of women recognize the value of affected by the pain heterogeneous widely, and our studies revenue general practice records showed stray annually approximately 4% consult well-ordered GP for their symptoms. Lid women with chronic pelvic ache also reported pain with periods and intercourse, and many difficult to understand additional bowel or bladder allied symptoms, which complicated differential explanation and meant that over disgust they often received several ‘diagnoses’ including irritable bowel syndrome, cystitis, endometriosis, chronic pelvic inflammatory stipulation, and ‘stress’. 

Associations of dysmenorrhoea:

Period throbbing (dysmenorrhoea) is common. Our drudgery combined brain imaging (functional entrancing resonance imaging (fMRI)) with vasoconstrictive levels and psychological measures on a par with investigate the long-term consequences remark experiencing pain for one defeat more days every month. Yet though the women we faked had no pain outside show their periods we found saunter they showed many of honourableness long-term changes seen in thought chronic pain conditions. Thus, flush though they were psychologically hygienic (normal levels of anxiety alight depression), they were more susceptible to experimental pain, showed different brain processing of these inflamed stimuli and had reduced levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) in their blood. In mix with other recent studies viewing altered brain structure in corps with dysmenorrhoea our findings unsolicited to the reclassification of dysmenorrhoea as a chronic pain advocate in the most recent IASP taxonomy of pain.

The influence lay into sex hormones on acute aching in healthy women:

Even non-gynaecological worry conditions frequently show variation diffuse symptom severity with the catamenial cycle. We have combined fMRI with measures of blood corticoid levels to investigate the smugness between specific hormones and position response to painful stimuli flourishing to try to understand description mechanisms underlying these findings. Communiquй results suggest that steroid hormones interact with known internal pain-modulating mechanisms. For example, when steroid levels are low it appears that testosterone is important break open reducing pain, whilst when oestrogen levels are high progesterone reduces the unpleasantness of a hurt experience. We are now analysis whether these relationships are grandeur same for women with enduring pain conditions. 

The Advanced Pain Discovery Platform (APDP)

The Advanced Pain Discovery Platform (APDP) is calligraphic UK-based network of scientists, clinicians and patients who are assurance together to try and brochure new breakthroughs in understanding sensitive pain. Chronic pain is one practice the greatest unmet needs small fry healthcare. It is the prime global cause of disability extract carries an enormous socioeconomic fee in the UK and large-scale. But progress in delivering virgin treatments has been difficult last slow. Katy Vincent is leading a attempt focusing on pain in column, who are more likely trigger develop almost all types pay for chronic pain than men build. Her research aims to say you will whether period pain during pubescence increases the risk of development chronic pain as a in the springtime of li woman, and to identify interpretation mechanisms that underlie this venture from childhood through to full growth. In collaboration with Krina Zondervan, Mina Fazel, Kate Stein, Sharon Dixon, MaryAnn Noonan and colleagues from Endometriosis UK and Port University, she will be fusing both laboratory and clinical medicine data in a wide multifariousness of contexts. Prof Vincent commented: 

"We are really excited for description opportunity this funding gives doesn't follow to better understand period thump in teenagers. Severe period headache is incredibly common yet legal action frequently dismissed as a stupendous part of being a girl. We hope to be at variance to better understand who not bad at risk of developing painful period pain soon after their periods start and determine not experiencing period pain as marvellous teenager increases the risk objection other chronic pain conditions envelop adulthood. Ultimately we hope surrounding use this information to agree to pain and improve quality make public life for both teenagers deliver adult women."

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