Background: Commonalities in the core symptoms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction experienced b... more Background: Commonalities in the core symptoms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction experienced by chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS, also known as ME) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have been described. Many CFS and MS patients also experience chronic pain, which has been attributed to central sensitization in both groups of patients. However, the characteristics of pain in CFS and MS patients have not been compared. Objectives: To compare experimental pain measurements in patients with CFS or MS and healthy controls.
Background: An acupuncture treatment can reduce pain sensitivity in patients with chronic whiplas... more Background: An acupuncture treatment can reduce pain sensitivity in patients with chronic whiplash associated disorders (WAD). But it has been hypothesized that many of the experimental results in acupuncture research could be interpreted as stress-induced analgesia. Objective: The present study aimed at examining whether acupuncture has an effect on the autonomic nervous system response in patients with chronic WAD and if this response is related to the pain inhibition after an acupuncture session. Study Design: Randomized crossover trial with blinded assessor. Setting: Two private practices. Methods: Thirty-nine patients with chronic WAD received 2 treatment sessions of identical duration, with acupuncture and relaxation therapy randomly crossed over in the 2 visits. The primary outcome measurement was the registration of autonomic nervous system parameters (heart rate, skin conductance, and heart rate variability parameters) during the administration of experimental pain. Endogenous analgesia was the secondary outcome. Results: Following one acupuncture treatment session, there was a significant change for 2 parameters: the heart rate was slightly reduced and the skin conductance was raised. Comparing the effects of acupuncture and relaxation, no differences were found with respect to the change in any of the autonomic parameters. Further, the reduction in pain sensitivity in response to acupuncture treatment was unrelated to any of the changes in autonomic measurements. Limitations: The results were observed after only one session of acupuncture. Conclusion: In patients with chronic WAD, in response to a single treatment session, no acupuncture specific effects on the autonomic response to pain assessment were present and the analgesia after one session of acupuncture is not caused by stress-induced analgesia but is more likely the result of an acupuncture specific reaction.
Background: Offset analgesia (OA) is an increasingly described phenomenon to measure endogenous p... more Background: Offset analgesia (OA) is an increasingly described phenomenon to measure endogenous pain inhibition, in which a greater decrease in pain intensity is experienced than would be predicted by the decrease in painful stimulation. The temporal filtering in this OA phenomenon differs from the spatial filtering in the commonly described conditioned pain modulation (CPM). Yet, the knowledge on the efficacy of OA in chronic pain patients is scarce, compared to CPM efficacy. Objective: This systematic review has been conducted to provide an overview of the current knowledge regarding OA, and to compare it to CPM. Study Design: A systematic review of research studies that investigated the application or mechanisms of OA. Setting: The present study took place at Ghent University and the University of Antwerp. Methods: This systematic review follows the PRISMA guidelines. The electronic databases Pubmed and Web of Science were searched in January 2015. Full text clinical reports addr...
Methods: Fifty-three women (19 CFS/FM patients, 16 RA patients, and 18 healthy women) were random... more Methods: Fifty-three women (19 CFS/FM patients, 16 RA patients, and 18 healthy women) were randomly allocated to the experimental group (1 g acetaminophen) or the placebo group (1 g dextrose). Participants underwent an assessment of endogenous pain inhibition, consisting of an evaluation of temporal summation with and without conditioned pain modulation (CPM). Seven days later groups were crossed-over. Patients and assessors were blinded for the allocation.
Background: Commonalities in the core symptoms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction experienced b... more Background: Commonalities in the core symptoms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction experienced by chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS, also known as ME) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have been described. Many CFS and MS patients also experience chronic pain, which has been attributed to central sensitization in both groups of patients. However, the characteristics of pain in CFS and MS patients have not been compared. Objectives: To compare experimental pain measurements in patients with CFS or MS and healthy controls.
Background: Commonalities in the core symptoms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction experienced b... more Background: Commonalities in the core symptoms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction experienced by chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS, also known as ME) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have been described. Many CFS and MS patients also experience chronic pain, which has been attributed to central sensitization in both groups of patients. However, the characteristics of pain in CFS and MS patients have not been compared. Objectives: To compare experimental pain measurements in patients with CFS or MS and healthy controls.
Central pain modulation in children with abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders
Based upon previous evidence for the presence of secondary hyperalgesia and altered cortical noci... more Based upon previous evidence for the presence of secondary hyperalgesia and altered cortical nociceptive processing, central sensitization (CS) might be present in children with pediatric abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders (AP-FGIDs). Still, indices of CS should be further investigated in order to provide firm evidence regarding its contribution in children with AP-FGIDs. Aims: To compare indices of CS in children with AP-FGIDs versus healthy controls. Methods: In this case-control study a total sample size of 66 children; 33 patients with AP-FGIDs and 33 healthy controls (6 - 12 years) will be studied. Patients will be recruited during medical examination by a pediatric specialist of the University Hospital of Antwerp. Healthy controls will be selected and matched with the patient group according to age, sex and socio-economic status. All participants will undergo experimental pain assessments to measure primary and secondary hyperalgesia (pressure pain th...
Ergotherapie bij chronische pijn en chronisch vermoeidheidssyndroom : the state of the art
Background: An acupuncture treatment can reduce pain sensitivity in patients with chronic whiplas... more Background: An acupuncture treatment can reduce pain sensitivity in patients with chronic whiplash associated disorders (WAD). But it has been hypothesized that many of the experimental results in acupuncture research could be interpreted as stress-induced analgesia. Objective: The present study aimed at examining whether acupuncture has an effect on the autonomic nervous system response in patients with chronic WAD and if this response is related to the pain inhibition after an acupuncture session. Study Design: Randomized crossover trial with blinded assessor. Setting: Two private practices. Methods: Thirty-nine patients with chronic WAD received 2 treatment sessions of identical duration, with acupuncture and relaxation therapy randomly crossed over in the 2 visits. The primary outcome measurement was the registration of autonomic nervous system parameters (heart rate, skin conductance, and heart rate variability parameters) during the administration of experimental pain. Endogenous analgesia was the secondary outcome. Results: Following one acupuncture treatment session, there was a significant change for 2 parameters: the heart rate was slightly reduced and the skin conductance was raised. Comparing the effects of acupuncture and relaxation, no differences were found with respect to the change in any of the autonomic parameters. Further, the reduction in pain sensitivity in response to acupuncture treatment was unrelated to any of the changes in autonomic measurements. Limitations: The results were observed after only one session of acupuncture. Conclusion: In patients with chronic WAD, in response to a single treatment session, no acupuncture specific effects on the autonomic response to pain assessment were present and the analgesia after one session of acupuncture is not caused by stress-induced analgesia but is more likely the result of an acupuncture specific reaction.
Background: The impairment in musculoskeletal structures in patients with low back pain (LBP) is ... more Background: The impairment in musculoskeletal structures in patients with low back pain (LBP) is often disproportionate to their complaint. Therefore, the need arises for exploration of alternative mechanisms contributing to the origin and maintenance of non-specific LBP. The recent focus has been on central nervous system phenomena in LBP and the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the various symptoms and characteristics of chronic pain. Knowledge concerning changes in pain processing in LBP remains ambiguous, partly due to the diversity in the LBP population. Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare quantitative sensory assessment in different groups of LBP patients with regard to chronicity. Recurrent low back pain (RLBP), mild chronic low back pain (CLBP), and severe CLBP are compared on the one hand with healthy controls (HC), and on the other hand with fibromyalgia (FM) patients, in which abnormal pain processing has previously been reported. Study Design: Cros...
Uploads
Papers by Mira Meeus