Placebo effects in neuropathic pain conditions.

Management of neuropathic pain is exceptionally challenging and development of new drugs and ways to optimize treatment effects in clinical practice are needed. Over the last decade, some of the mechanisms underlying placebo effects have been elucidated and some of the insights have the potential to improve the treatment for neuropathic pain. Research suggests that the increasing placebo responses observed in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for neuropathic pain pose challenges for the development and availability of new effective pain medications.

Signal to noise ratio of masticatory muscle activity of functional and non-functional oral tasks.

Background: Electromyographic activity (EMG) of masticatory muscles during wakefulness is understudied. It is unclear if single channel ambulatory EMG devices are sensitive enough to detect masticatory muscle activity (MMA) during wakefulness.

Objectives: To compare the MMA of various oral tasks recorded with a single channel EMG device ((Grindcare4-datalogger Prototype device) (GC4-β)) and a conventional EMG (cEMG) device.

Impact of oral motor task training on corticomotor pathways and diadochokinetic rates in young healthy participants.

Background: Studies addressing the training-induced neuroplasticity and interrelationships of the lip, masseter, and tongue motor representations in the human motor cortex using single syllable repetition are lacking.

Objective: This study investigated the impact of a repeated training in a novel PaTaKa diadochokinetic (DDK) orofacial motor task (OMT) on corticomotor control of the lips, masseter, and tongue muscles in young healthy participants.

Methods: A total of 22 young healthy volunteers performed 3 consecutive days of training in an OMT.

Facilitatory Effect of Intermittent Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Perceptual Distortion of the Face.

Orofacial pain patients often report that the painful facial area is "swollen" without clinical signs - known as perceptual distortion (PD). The neuromodulatory effect of facilitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on PD in healthy individuals was investigated, to provide further support that the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) is involved in facial PD. Participants were allocated to active (n = 26) or sham (n = 26) rTMS group in this case-control study.

Effectiveness of Standard Oral Care Plan During Hospital Stay in Individuals With Brain Injury.

To investigate the effectiveness of an existing standard oral care program (SOCP) and factors associated with it during hospitalization in individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI). A total of 61 individuals underwent a SOCP for 4 weeks in a longitudinal observational study. Rapidly noticeable changes in oral health were evaluated by performing plaque, calculus, bleeding on probing (BOP) and bedside oral examination (BOE) at weeks 1 and 5.

The relationship between headache-attributed disability and lost productivity: 2. Empirical evidence from population-based studies in nine disparate countries.

Background: Headache disorders are disabling, with major consequences for productivity, yet the literature is silent on the relationship between headache-attributed disability and lost productivity, often erroneously regarding the two as synonymous. We evaluated the relationship empirically, having earlier found that investment in structured headache services would be cost saving, not merely cost-effective, if reductions in headache-attributed disability led to > 20% pro rata recovery of lost productivity.

Methods: We used individual participant data from Global Campaign population-based studies conducted in China, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Russia, and from Eurolight in Lithuania, Luxembourg and Spain.

Internal structure and validity of the bedside oral examination tool in patients with brain injury at neurorehabilitation setting.

Objectives: To assess the internal structure and validity of the 'bedside oral examination' (BOE) instrument in individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI).

Methods: Ninety ABI individuals were examined using BOE in their first week of neurorehabilitation. BOE measures oral health within eight categories including: swallow, tongue, odour, teeth, lips, saliva, mucosa and gingiva.

The relationship between headache-attributed disability and lost productivity: 1. A review of the literature.

Background: Headache disorders are disabling and have a significant impact on productivity. The relationship between these two consequences is of considerable economic and political interest. We enquired into it through a systematic search of the English-language literature.

Painful and non-painful symptoms evoked by experimental bracing and thrusting of the mandible in healthy individuals.

Background: Bruxism may involve bracing and thrusting of the mandible, in addition to clenching or grinding of the teeth. It is unclear how bracing and thrusting may contribute to potential musculoskeletal symptoms associated with bruxism.

Objective: To examine the effect of experimental bracing and thrusting of the mandible on the development of musculoskeletal symptoms in healthy volunteers.

Assessment and rehabilitation interventions for central facial palsy in patients with acquired brain injury: a systematic review.

: To do a systematic review covering assessments and interventions for central facial palsy (CFP) in patients with acquired brain injury.: PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, PsycInfo, and Web of Science were screened until April 2019. Assessments were defined as clinical- and instrumental tools and rating scales.

Changes in oral health related quality of life and its associated factors in individuals with brain injury.

: To evaluate changes in oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and associated factors in individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) during hospitalization.: Forty-six individuals with ABI were examined at week 1 and 5 of hospitalization. OHRQoL was recorded through Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14), clinical oral examinations were conducted, while orofacial health-related 'motor' and 'cognitive' scores were retrieved from patients' e-journal.

Periodontitis and orofacial health-related systemic impairment in patients with brain injury: a factor analysis approach.

: To investigate the association of periodontitis to orofacial health-related systemic impairment in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). Ninety individuals with ABI were included. Full mouth periodontal examination was performed.

Oral health: something to worry about in individuals with acquired brain injury?

Objectives: To investigate the oral health status in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) admitted at neurorehabilitation setting.

Methods: 132 individuals with ABI were examined within their first week of admission. Individuals' socio-behavioral history, length of stay in acute care etc.

Effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on altered perception of One's own face.

Background: Chronic orofacial pain (COP) patients often perceive the painful face area as "swollen" without clinical signs; such self-reported illusions of the face are termed perceptual distortion (PD). The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PD remain elusive.

Objective: To test the neuromodulatory effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on PD in healthy individuals, to gain insight into the cortical mechanisms underlying PD.

Quantitative and qualitative assessment of sensory changes induced by local anesthetics block of two different trigeminal nerve branches.

Objectives: The aims were to use different techniques to assess the degree of sensory changes and magnitude of perceived size changes in the facial region induced by nerve blocks of two different trigeminal nerve branches in healthy participants.

Materials And Methods: This placebo-controlled study included 30 healthy volunteers. The participants underwent quantitative and qualitative sensory testing (QST and QualST) thrice: before, 10 min, and 2 h after mental (n = 15) and infraorbital (n = 15) nerve blocks and during control (saline) sessions.

Oral Health and Brain Injury: Causal or Casual Relation?

Background: To systematically review the current literature investigating the association between oral health and acquired brain injury.

Methods: A structured search strategy was applied to PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CENTRAL electronic databases until March 2017 by 2 independent reviewers. The preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis guidelines were used for systematic review.

Psychosocial Profiles of Temporomandibular Disorder Pain Patients: Proposal of a New Approach to Present Complex Data.

Aims: To propose a visual method to screen and assess psychosocial functioning in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain patients in comparison with age- and gender-matched healthy controls by forming individual profiles and to evaluate the association between psychosocial profiles and quantitative sensory testing (QST) findings of TMD pain patients.

Methods: TMD patients (n = 58) and control participants (n = 41) completed a set of questionnaires profiling their psychosocial function, and QST was performed at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) on both sides of the face in all participants. Psychosocial parameters from the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD), Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) instruments were transformed into T scores, and QST parameters were transformed into z scores based on reference data.

Oral health status in patients with acquired brain injury: a systematic review.

Objective: To undertake a systematic review of the current knowledge and future perspectives regarding the status of various oral health factors, including social and behavioral aspects, in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI).

Study Design: A structured search strategy was applied to PubMed, Embase, and Scopus electronic databases until January 2016 to identify studies presenting assessments of the oral health status of patients afflicted with any kind of ABI. The search strategy was restricted to English-language publications that enrolled patients aged more than 18 years.

Pain profiling of patients with temporomandibular joint arthralgia and osteoarthritis diagnosed with different imaging techniques.

Background: Clinical differentiation between pain mechanisms of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthralgia and osteoarthritis (OA) is challenging. The aims were to compare somatosensory function at the TMJs and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) effects between TMJ arthralgia and OA patients diagnosed clinically and based on different imaging techniques and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (n = 41).

Methods: Patients (n = 58) underwent standard clinical examination and three different TMJ imaging modalities.

Somatosensory assessment and conditioned pain modulation in temporomandibular disorders pain patients.

The pathophysiology and underlying pain mechanisms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are poorly understood. The aims were to assess somatosensory function at the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) and to examine whether conditioned pain modulation (CPM) differs between TMD pain patients (n = 34) and healthy controls (n = 34). Quantitative sensory testing was used to assess the somatosensory function.

Standardization of muscle palpation- methodological considerations.

Objectives: To compare test-retest variability of palpation between a new palpometer and manual palpation using (1) right or left hand, (2) index or middle finger, (3) randomized or fixed sequence of force levels, (4) palpation on soft or hard surface, and (5) palpation for 2 or 10 seconds.

Methods: Twelve clinicians were instructed to target 0.5, 1.