Could Relationship-Based Learnt Beliefs and Expectations Contribute to Physiological Vulnerability of Chronic Pain? Making a Case to Consider Attachment in Pain Research.

Pain is an interpersonal and inherently social experience. Pain perception and administration of medical treatment all occur in a particular environmental and social context. Early environmental influences and early learning experiences and interactions condition the body's response to different threats (like pain), ultimately shaping the underlying neurophysiology.

Correction: Could the ketogenic diet induce a shift in thyroid function and support a metabolic advantage in healthy participants? A pilot randomized-controlled-crossover trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Network Analysis of Neurobehavioral Symptom Patterns in an International Sample of Spanish-Speakers with a History of COVID-19 and Controls.

(1) Background: Psychometric network analysis provides a novel statistical approach allowing researchers to model clusters of related symptoms as a dynamic system. This study applied network analysis to investigate the patterns of somatic, cognitive, and affective neurobehavioral symptoms in an international sample of Spanish-speaking individuals with a history of COVID-19 positivity and non-COVID controls; (2) methods: the sample (n = 1093) included 650 adults from 26 countries who reported having previously tested positive for COVID-19 (COVID+) through a viral and/or antigen test (average of 147 days since diagnosis). The control group (COVID-) was comprised of 443 adults from 20 countries who had completed the survey prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) results: relative to the COVID- network, the COVID+ network was very well-connected, such that each neurobehavioral symptom was positively connected to the network.

The complexities of the sleep-pain relationship in adolescents: A critical review.

Chronic pain is a common and disabling condition in adolescents. Disturbed sleep is associated with many detrimental effects in adolescents with acute and chronic pain. While sleep and pain are known to share a reciprocal relationship, the sleep-pain relationship in adolescence warrants further contextualization within normally occurring maturation of several biopsychological processes.

Moderate, Little, or No Improvements in Neurobehavioral Symptoms among Individuals with Long COVID: A 34-Country Retrospective Study.

(1) Background: Some people with COVID-19 develop a series of symptoms that last for several months after infection, known as Long COVID. Although these symptoms interfere with people's daily functioning and quality of life, few studies have focused on neurobehavioral symptoms and the risk factors associated with their development; (2) Methods: 1001 adults from 34 countries who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 completed the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory reporting the symptoms before their COVID-19 diagnosis, during the COVID-19 infection, and currently; (3) Results: Participants reported large-sized increases before vs. during COVID-19 in all domains.

An international study of post-COVID sleep health.

Objectives: COVID-19 has infected millions of people worldwide, with growing evidence that individuals with a history of infection may continue to show persistent post-COVID symptoms (long COVID). The aim of this study was to investigate sleep health in an international sample of individuals who reported previously testing positive for COVID-19.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Could the ketogenic diet induce a shift in thyroid function and support a metabolic advantage in healthy participants? A pilot randomized-controlled-crossover trial.

Background: The ketogenic diet (KD) has been shown to result in body mass loss in people with disease as well as healthy people, yet the effect of the KD on thyroid function and metabolism are unknown.

Objective: We aimed to determine the effects of a KD, compared with an isocaloric high-carbohydrate low-fat (HCLF) diet, on resting metabolic rate and thyroid function in healthy individuals.

Design: Eleven healthy, normal-weight participants (mean(SD) age: 30(9) years) completed this randomized crossover-controlled study.

Why It Is Important to Consider the Effects of Analgesics on Sleep: A Critical Review.

We review the known physiological mechanisms underpinning all of pain processing, sleep regulation, and pharmacology of analgesics prescribed for chronic pain. In particular, we describe how commonly prescribed analgesics act in sleep-wake neural pathways, with potential unintended impact on sleep and/or wake function. Sleep disruption, whether pain- or drug-induced, negatively impacts quality of life, mental and physical health.

Three consecutive weeks of nutritional ketosis has no effect on cognitive function, sleep, and mood compared with a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet in healthy individuals: a randomized, crossover, controlled trial.

Background: The high-fat ketogenic diet (KD) has become an increasingly popular diet not only in overweight/obese populations, or those with clinical conditions, but also in healthy non-overweight populations.

Objective: Because there are concerns about the association between high-fat diets and cognitive decline, this study aimed to determine the effects of a KD compared with an isocaloric high-carbohydrate, low-fat (HCLF) diet on cognitive function, sleep, and mood in healthy, normal-weight individuals.

Methods: Eleven healthy, normal-weight participants (mean age: 30 ± 9 y) completed this randomized, controlled, crossover study.

Sleep in Women with Chronic Pain and Autoimmune Conditions: A Narrative Review.

Chronic pain and sleep disturbances are intricately intertwined. This narrative review provides comments on observations related to pain, stress-immunity, and sleep. Sleep evidence is reviewed from studies of select conditions involving pain (ie, functional somatic syndromes and autoimmune) that are predominant in women.

The effect of a ketogenic diet versus a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet on sleep, cognition, thyroid function, and cardiovascular health independent of weight loss: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Many physiological health benefits observed after following a ketogenic diet (KD) can be attributed to the associated weight loss. The KD has become more prominent as a popular health choice, not only in obese/overweight individuals, but also in healthy adults. The study aims to determine the effects of a KD, independent of weight loss, on various aspects of physiological health including: sleep, thyroid function, cognition, and cardio-metabolic health.

Sleep Fragmentation Hypersensitizes Healthy Young Women to Deep and Superficial Experimental Pain.

Unlabelled: The effect of sleep deprivation on pain sensitivity has typically been studied using total and partial sleep deprivation protocols. These protocols do not mimic the fragmented pattern of sleep disruption usually observed in individuals with clinical pain conditions. Therefore, we conducted a controlled experiment to investigate the effect of sleep fragmentation on pain perception (deep pain: forearm muscle ischemia, and superficial pain: graded pin pricks applied to the skin) in 11 healthy young women after 2 consecutive nights of sleep fragmentation, compared with a normal night of sleep.

What we know about primary dysmenorrhea today: a critical review.

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation in the absence of pelvic pathology, is a common, and often debilitating, gynecological condition that affects between 45 and 95% of menstruating women. Despite the high prevalence, dysmenorrhea is often poorly treated, and even disregarded, by health professionals, pain researchers, and the women themselves, who may accept it as a normal part of the menstrual cycle. This review reports on current knowledge, particularly with regards to the impact and consequences of recurrent menstrual pain on pain sensitivity, mood, quality of life and sleep in women with primary dysmenorrhea.

Reduced quality of life when experiencing menstrual pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea.

Primary dysmenorrhea is the most common gynecological condition among women of reproductive age. Although dysmenorrhea has been reported to affect the ability of women to carry out daily activities, the impact of primary dysmenorrheic pain specifically on quality of life (QoL), has yet to be elucidated. We investigated whether QoL varies between women with and without severe primary dysmenorrhea, and whether QoL is impaired only during menstruation or also during pain-free phases of the menstrual cycle.

The 24-h progression of menstrual pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea when given diclofenac potassium: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study.

Purpose: Primary dysmenorrhea, which refers to painful, spasmodic cramping in the lower abdomen just before/or during menstruation, is the most common gynecological complaint in women of reproductive age. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been prescribed as the first-line therapy for pain relief from dysmenorrhea. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of the daily recommended dose (150 mg) of diclofenac potassium, administered at set intervals across the first 24 h of menstruation, in treating severe menstrual pain in 24 women with severe primary dysmenorrhea.

Women with dysmenorrhea are hypersensitive to experimental deep muscle pain across the menstrual cycle.

Unlabelled: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common painful condition in women that recurs every month across the reproductive years. The recurrent nociceptive input into the central nervous system that occurs during menstruation each month in women with dysmenorrhea is hypothesized to lead to increased sensitivity to painful stimuli. We investigated whether women with primary dysmenorrhea are hyperalgesic to deep muscle pain induced by a cleanly nociceptive method of hypertonic saline injection.

Diclofenac potassium restores objective and subjective measures of sleep quality in women with primary dysmenorrhea.

Study Objectives: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common gynecological disorder that disrupts daytime functioning and nighttime sleep quality. We determined the effectiveness of diclofenac potassium, compared to placebo, in alleviating nighttime pain and restoring sleep architecture in women with primary dysmenorrhea.

Design: Randomized, double-blind, crossover study.