Central Sensitisation
Conditions
Keywords
central sensitisation, central sensitization, nociception, withdrawal reflex, heat pain, secondary hyperalgesia
Brief summary
Many chronic pain conditions show clear differences between between men and women, such as reported pain intensities or treatment effects, with chronic pain conditions being generally more frequent in women. Yet, the underlying mechanisms causing these differences are poorly understood. Central sensitization (CS) is considered one important mechanism in pain patients which differs between female and male patients. The central hypothesis is that already in the healthy population CS processes are more pronounced in women than in men.
Interventions
OTHERCutaneous thermal stimuli
Application of thermal stimuli of different intensities to the skin
Sponsors
Balgrist University Hospital
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* good general health * able to give informed consent
Exclusion criteria
* pain complaints for more than two consecutive days over the past three months * any major medical or psychiatric condition (e.g. heart disease, major depressive disorder) * any chronic pain condition * inability to follow study instructions * consumption of stimulants, drugs, or analgesics within the past 24 hours * scar tissue or generally reduced sensitivity in the designated testing site areas
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in spatial extent of mechanical hypersensitivity after intervention w.r.t. baseline | 10-20 minutes before intervention (baseline) and 20-30 minutes after intervention | Mapping of hypersensitivity in cm2 of sensitized skin area using two quantitative sensory testing tools (256mN von Frey filament and 200-400mN brush) before and after intervention |
| Changes to the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR) after intervention w.r.t. baseline | 5-10 minutes before intervention (baseline) and 30-35 minutes after intervention | Repetitive suprathreshold elicitation of the NWR to monitor its characteristics (such as magnitude and number of responses) before and after intervention |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed