chronic

Scientists discovered that viruses like SARS-CoV-2 can cause brain cells to fuse, leading to chronic neurological symptoms. This process, where neurons either start firing together or stop working entirely, provides a new perspective on the long-term effects of viral infections on the brain and may apply to other viruses that infect the nervous system. Credit: The AuthorsResearchers have discovered viruses such as <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div…

Chronic school absenteeism. Credit: University of Missouri More than 7 million school-age children, or 16% of the student population, in the United States are missing at least 15 days of school during an academic year—an issue known as chronic absenteeism. To identify the most common factors linked with chronic school absenteeism,…

Using a brain implant that can record neural signals over many months, my research team and I have discovered objective biomarkers of chronic pain severity in four patients with chronic pain as they went about their daily lives.Pain is one of the most important and basic subjective experiences a person can have. While there is plenty of evidence that perception of pain takes place in the brain, there is also a major knowledge gap regarding where and how pain signals are processed in the brain.Even though pain is…

Around 17 million Americans had chronic pain so bad in 2021 that it drastically interfered with their lives, according to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The analysis estimates that nearly 52 million American adults—about one in every five—suffered from chronic pain in 2021.Won’t Virtual Reality Make Me Sick?CDC researchers examined recent data collected from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an in-person survey of households meant to be representative of the country as a…

In the months after giving birth to my son in March 2019, my Fitbit started recording some unusual heart rate readings. Pregnancy causes the resting heart rate to rise about 20 beats per minute, then the rate falls back to its usual levels in the weeks following childbirth. Instead, my resting heart rate continued to steadily rise after birth, a trend that was accompanied by other puzzling symptoms, including exhaustion that wouldn’t go away no matter how much I slept; constant, low-grade dizziness; and an inability to…

A new treatment for chronic back pain, called Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT), has shown significant improvements in pain intensity and pain-related disability. The whole-person approach was tested on nearly 500 participants, who experienced large, clinically important reductions in pain and disability one year after the treatment.In a study published in <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>The Lancet</div><div…

There’s new hope for chronic lower back pain sufferers after an innovative trial combining psychological and physical approaches empowered patients to manage pain and movement, resulting in a dramatic reduction in the condition and related mobility issues.It’s estimated around 80% of adults will experience lower back pain during their lives, with its prevalence only increasing with age. For around a quarter of people, it turns into a frustrating chronic condition, lasting more than three months and can persist for years.A…

Scripps Research scientists have discovered two distinct molecular mechanisms by which chronic alcohol consumption increases sensitivity to pain. The findings, published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, suggest potential drug targets for treating alcohol-associated chronic pain and hypersensitivity.A Scripps Research team showed how both alcohol intake and alcohol withdrawal can lead to increased pain and hypersensitivity.Chronic alcohol consumption may make people more sensitive to pain through two different…

The study identified a cellular pathway that could be utilized to reprogram the immune system to combat both chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases.Researchers at the University of Queensland have uncovered a cellular pathway that could be leveraged to reprogram the body’s immune system to defend against both chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases.Dr. Kaustav Das Gupta and Professor Matt Sweet from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland have found that a molecule derived from…

Researchers found a connection between arthritis flare-ups and periodontitis by tracing bacteria associated with periodontal disease in samples collected from rheumatoid arthritis patients, which could lead to the development of therapies for the autoimmune inflammatory disease.A researcher at Rice University discovers a critical piece of information in discarded data that redirects their research in the right direction.Regular dental check-ups could potentially alleviate joint pain. When Vicky Yao, a computational…