Central sensitisation

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    A prospective open labeled study to evaluate if central sensitization as measured with QST alters following chronic pain interventions

  • IRAS ID

    189438

  • Contact name

    Vivek Mehta

  • Contact email

    vivek.mehta@bartshealth.nhs.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Barts Health NHS Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 11 months, 31 days

  • Research summary

    Patients with chronic pain remains a significant burden on the NHS. It is increasingly recognised that medicines/interventions typically provide a modest response in half or fewer of patients treated, and the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of these treatments remains poor. Also the abiliity to predict those patients who will respond and those who do not respond to interventions and treatments. Global outcome measures such as visual analogue scores (VAS) provide a crude integrated measure of a total pain experience but do not identify specific pain mechanisms or differential response of an individual mechanism to a particular treatment. Patients with chronic pain are typically peripherally (touch) and centrally sensitised as measured by quantitative sensory testing (QST). QST offers a powerful tool for explaining pain mechanisms in a variety of clinical and research conditions. The Pain and Anaesthesia Research Centre based at Barts Health NHS Trust is one of a small number of groups worldwide that has clinical experience in using QST in a variety of different clinical and research settings.
    In this study we would like to explore whether QST alters with different treatments/interventions and whether QST can be use as a bedside marker for central pain senstisation and whether this is altered with a treatment or intervention.

    LAY SUMMARY OF STUDY RESULTS:
    N/A
    Conditioned pain modulation-A comprehensive review.
    Ramaswamy S, Wodehouse T.Neurophysiol Clin. 2021 Jun;51(3):197-208. doi: 10.1016/j.neucli.2020.11.002. Epub 2020 Dec 14.

  • REC name

    London - South East Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    15/LO/2094

  • Date of REC Opinion

    12 Jan 2016

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion