Translational Pain Research: Achievements and Challenges

Jianren Mao, MD, PhD

MGH Center for Translational Pain Research
Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

Over the last few decades, significant achievements in pain research have led to improvements in clinical pain management. These improvements include, but are not limited to, novel drug-delivery systems, pain assessment tools, and interventional techniques. Improved understanding of pain mechanisms has also shaped contemporary pain research. The concept of neuroplasticity, for example, has suggested that pain is not a passive process. Despite these achievements, significant challenges remain in the translation of pain research from the bench to the bedside. Here, Dr. Mao discusses these challenges and proposes strategies to bridge the gap between pain research and clinical pain management. The potential for objective markers of pain, clinical analysis of current pain mechanism theories, and collaborative efforts among scientists, investigators and pain practitioners is discussed to expedite the transition from research to clinical applications.

References

Mao J. Translational pain research: achievements and challenges. J Pain. 2009;10:1001-1011.
Backonja M, Woolf CJ. Future directions in neuropathic pain therapy: closing the translational loop. Oncologist. 2010;15 suppl 2:24-29.
Arendt-Nielsen L, Curatolo M, Drewes A. Human experimental pain models in drug development: translational pain research. Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2007;8:41-53.

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