Pain Clinical Trials in Pittsburgh, PA

Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) is a novel investigative technique used in other pain conditions to evaluate patterns of chronic pain, and in this study will be used to elucidate pain patterns in patients with Chronic Pancreatitis (CP). QST uses a specific series of standardized stimulations to map the pain system. QST has the potential to change and improve the treatment paradigm for patients with CP and may eventually be able to predict response to invasive CP therapies. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to compare the benefits of skills training and health education interventions designed specifically to increase the well-being of people with persistent pain after breast surgery for lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), or invasive breast cancer, and to examine the roles of psychological and physiological variables as modifiable contributors to the continuing burden of persistent pain. Read Less

The investigators propose to conduct a dose-escalation trial of an FDA-approved antiepileptic drug, lacosamide, added to opioid therapy in patients with chronic abdominal pain from chronic pancreatitis (CP). This pilot trial will test the feasibility of the study design and provide reassurance regarding the tolerability and safety of lacosamide used concomitantly with opioids in this patient population to reduce the condition known clinically as opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). Read Less

The goal of this study is to measure the test retest reliability of offset analgesia (OA) and onset hyperalgesia (OH) across multiple study visits. OA and OH are quantitative sensory tests (QST) thought to measure how the brain modulates pain. This study will use a heat thermode to induce OA and OH in healthy, pain-free volunteers across 3 study visits. Additional QST measures and survey data relevant to pain modulation will be collected. This study lays the foundation required to use OA and OH as tools to measure pain modulation in clinical trials. Following their validation, we anticipate that OA and OH will serve as predictive and therapeutic biomarkers, which will aid both in the development of novel analgesics and in treatment selection leading to the personalization of pain management. Read Less

The study utilizes a 3-arm placebo-controlled RCT to study the effectiveness of ketamine in reducing chronic post-mastectomy pain. Participants randomized to the first arm will receive a 0.35 mg/kg dose after induction, followed by a 0.25 mg/kg/hr infusion during surgery (up to a maximum of 6 hours) and continued for 2 hours postoperatively. Participants in the second arm will receive a single dose of 0.6 mg/kg of ketamine in the post-anesthesia care unit, and the final group will serve as the control group and receive saline (no ketamine). Read Less

This study examines the relationship between central nervous system (CNS) mechanisms of pain inhibition and the pain relief that occurs following a lumbar medial branch block (MBB). Read Less

Abdominal pain in chronic pancreatitis (CP) affects up to 90% of patients during the course of their disease, and response to currently available therapies is suboptimal and unpredictable. The proposed clinical trial will evaluate the predictive capability of Pancreatic Quantitative Sensory Testing (P-QST) - a novel assessment of neurosensory phenotyping- for improvement in pain in patients with CP who are undergoing medically-indicated invasive treatment with endoscopic therapy or surgery. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of pain on long-term memory and conditioned physiologic responses in the presence and absence of distinct intravenous anesthetics. Functional magnetic resonance imaging will be used to identify the neural correlates of these phenomena The study will occur over 5 visits and involves no long-term follow up. Read Less

A multicenter, single-dose study in children 12 to <17 years of age, 6 to <12 years of age, and 2 to <6 years of age who are scheduled for elective open inguinal hernia repair. Enrollment in this study will start with the oldest age group (12 to <17 years) and will continue in a stepwise fashion until appropriate doses are established for all 3 pediatric age groups (12 to <17 years, 6 to <12 years, 2 to <6 years). Read Less