Clinical pharmacology of cancer pain.

Clinical pharmacology of opioids for pain.

The pharmacological effects of the opioid analgesics are derived from their complex interactions with three opioid receptor types (mu, delta, and kappa; morphine is an agonist at the mu opioid receptor). These receptors are found in the periphery, at presynaptic and postsynaptic sites in the spinal cord dorsal horn, and in the brain stem, thalamus, and cortex, in what constitutes the ascending ...

Pharmacology of pain.

This article discusses the mechanisms of action of the main drugs used to treat pain, in particular inflammatory pain. The drugs are described following a classification based on the steps of pain processing that they primarily affect.

Behavioral pharmacology of pain.

Behavioral methods are extensively used in pain research. Rodent modeling tends to rely on evoked responses but there is a growing interest in behavioral readouts that may capture elements of ongoing pain and disability, reflecting the major clinical signs and symptoms. Clinically, analgesics show greater efficacy in acute pain after standard surgery than in chronic conditions but are never com...

Clonidine: clinical pharmacology and therapeutic use in pain management.

Pain is an unpleasant sensory perception warning of actual or impending tissue damage. Pain serves a vital physiological role, however, severe and uncontrolled pain in the peri-operative setting can adversely affect outcome from surgery and lead to chronic pain. Multiple neurochemical and receptor processes are involved in pain perception but the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and adrenergi...

Pain Pharmacology and Analgesia