Spotlight on Chronic pain

For Katarina Wellington, suffering from constant pain from her fibromyalgia, the turning point came with behavioral therapy. The pain no longer rules her life.

It has long been assumed that chronic nerve pain is caused by hypersensitivity in the neurons that transmit pain. Patrik Ernfors and his colleagues show that another kind of neuron that allows us to feel pleasant touch sensation, can switch function and instead signal pain after nerve damage.

There is currently no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that can cause severe pain. Rheumatologist Anca Catrina is trying to find a way to prevent the symptoms of the disease and indeed to prevent it breaking out at all.

Chronic pain affects large groups of patients and is very costly in terms of human suffering and medical resources. Eva Kosek studies the causes of chronic pain in the hope that her work will one day lead to new, more efficacious treatments.

Per-Johan Jakobsson wants to gain a better understanding of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatism. His research may lead to more efficacious drugs for pain and fever in the long term.

Karin Jensen and her colleagues show in a study that people can be conditioned to associate images with particular pain responses – such as improved tolerance to pain – even when they are not consciously aware of the images.

As a teenager, he experienced how chronic pain can destroy a person's existence. Today, Rikard Wicksell offers an evaluated method that support his aim – to help pain patients regain a meaningful life.