We wish to investigate the role of a specific gene in visceral pain sensation and perception. This gene, Nav1.8 has a known change present in 10% of the population which may affect the way we feel inflammatory pain in the gut. This is an important symptom in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Some patients feel high levels of pain we would like to control, other patients feel little to no pain in the presence of very active disease, which can lead to dangerously under-treated disease. In this study, we will use healthy volunteers as well as IBD patients, and test their sensitivity using rectal balloon dilation.Research subjects will be asked to fast, skipping solid foods and opaque liquids for 6 hours before the testing. Usually this means skipping 1 meal. At the beginning of the study visit. they will use an over the counter enema to clear their rectum of any stool. Healthy control subjects that have never had a colonoscopy before and all IBD patients will undergo a very brief proctoscopy to either verify rectal health or check for any IBD disease activity. Healthy controls that have had a prior colonoscopy within the last 5 years will skip that prior step. Then a trained physician on the research team will insert a thin, lubricated tube into the rectum, which will be inflated to specific pressures. Most of these tests will be designed to measure any change in sensation, then the need to use the toilet, followed by urgent need or discomfort, and lastly the lower threshold of pain. Test subjects will be able to stop testing at any time, should they become too uncomfortable. The testing takes between 1 and 1 and a half hours, and volunteers are compensated $200 for their time.

To simulate abdominal pain, we use a thin tube placed in the rectum that inflates a small balloon to very precise and safe pressures. Our bodies interpret these pressures (in ascending order) as the need to go to the bathroom; first just a little, then with increasing urgency and eventually discomfort and pain. During these experiments, we only measure the lower threshold of pain, and stop immediately when you tell us to stop. We have significant experience using this approach and we have found it consistently informative while causing the least amount of discomfort possible. The whole thing takes about an hour and we’re paying volunteers $200 for participating. We'll ask that you skip a meal before the study visit, and perform an over-the-counter enema at the start of the visit.

$200

We are looking to conduct a study looking at the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in patients with endometriosis. We believe that CBD will improve both pain and quality of life. The study will last a total of 12 weeks and involve several onsite visits in addition to daily pain assessments.

There will be five in person visitsblood will be drawn at all of these visits

$175

Women with endometriosis have more thromboxane being produced in their platelets. Thromboxane affects blood vessels, making them constrict, and sensory nerves, making them more sensitive. This study will determine if women with endometriosis are negatively effected by the excess thromboxane.

There will be three in-person visits: one screening and two experimental visits. Participants will take aspirin before one visit and a placebo before the other then will undergo brief tests of nerve sensitivity and a blood draw.

$150

The goal of the proposed project is to identify biosignatures that predict resilience or vulnerability to the transition from acute to chronic pain in a cohort of patients recovering from an acute musculoskeletal trauma.

There is one in person visit that will include a 30-min MRI scan, sensory testing, and blood draw. Two follow-up surveys will be sent to the participants at 3- and 6-months following their injury.

$200

This is a survey and interview study recruiting patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Participants will answer questionnaires and complete a remote interview about health care experiences, pain, and discrimination. Natural language processing of interview transcripts will be used to quantify linguistic features indicative of subjective associations between individual experiences of racial discrimination and sickle cell pain.

Participants will be asked to fill out questionnaires and answer questions during an interview.

$50

Menthol, capsaicin, and camphor are active ingredients often found in over-the-counter pain relief creams and gels. These ingredients typically work by interacting with certain receptors in the skin that are sensitive to temperature changes. There is limited information on how combining menthol with other substances that target similar receptors affects the body. These naturally occurring substances found in plants can widen small blood vessels in the skin through specific processes controlled by nerves in the skin. This study aims to understand how menthol, camphor, and capsaicin individually and together affect sensory function and blood flow in the skin. Additionally, as people age, their skin's nerve and blood vessel function tends to decrease. The study also seeks to explore how aging impacts the effects of these substances on sensory perception and how nerves and blood vessels work together in the skin.

There will be a screening visit and then 6 experiment visits where different topical analgesics will be applied to the forearm skin. We will measure skin blood flow.

240

The purpose of this study is see if Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator (TENS) units help decrease endometriosis flare pain. Participants will complete surveys, record pain, medication use and bleeding in an online diary during endometriosis flare ups for 3 months without using the TENS unit. After the first 3 month period of time, a TENS unit will be given to participants to wear and again, record pain, medication use and bleeding in the online diary during endometriosis flare ups for and additional 3 months while using the TENS unit.

There will be one in person enrollment visit, involving being consented and completion of 2 surveys. The first 3 months, the "baseline period" will include filling out pain scores online on days of endometriosis flare without TENS unit use. The next 3 months, the "treatment period" will include filling out pain scores online on days of endometriosis flare with TENS unit. At end of study completion of 2 surveys.

The purpose of this study is to learn more about the daily experiences of people with back pain and their spouse/partner. Participants and their spouse/partner will be interviewed by video using a tablet computer every 6 months for 2 years and will be asked to complete daily surveys twice a day for 30 days using the provided tablet computer. The daily surveys will take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Questions for the interviews and daily surveys focus on physical symptoms, feelings, activities, and interactions.

Video interviews using a tablet computer every 6 months for 2 years. Complete daily surveys twice a day for 30 days using a tablet computer.

295.00

This study establishes the reliability and convergent validity of the PACED rating scale. 15 undergraduate nursing students and registered nurses will be recruited to complete 2 clinical scenarios related to nursing home residents with dementia experiencing pain and symptoms of distress. Participants will use their clinical judgment to conduct assessments and provide interventions and treatments.

Participants (nurses and nursing students) will be asked to complete a demographic survey, a pain management knowledge survey (POAKS), and complete 2 clinical scenarios followed by pain management notes related to persons with dementia experiencing symptoms of distress. It may take about an hour to complete the study procedure mentioned above. You can choose to complete the 2 clinical scenarios in one setting or at different times.

$25 gift card for Registered Nurses (RN) and nursing students.

Research has shown that exposure to different environments alters perceived pain intensity. To explore whether pain differs in various VR environments, we are going to use virtual reality to immerse participants in different settings. At the end of every immersion, we are going to induce controlled experimental thermal pain to participants (like holding a hot cup of coffee) to understand whether their pain differs. We are also going to measure their stress, affect and brain activity using behavioral, electrophysiological (skin conductance and heart rate) and functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) methodology. The results have the potential to improve pain treatment in medical settings, where virtual reality is regularly used as a non-pharmacological analgesic, but also to inform architectural design and urban planning, so our cities and homes promote improved pain outcomes.

There will be one in-person visit that will last ~3.5 hours. During the visit you will be immersed in Virtual Reality environments, you will experience painful (but tolerable) heat stimulations, like holding a hot cup of coffee, and you will be asked to rate your pain intensity. We will record your brain activity using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) as well as your palm sweatiness and pulse. You will be compensated $25 per hour for your time.

~$85

This study investigates how clinicians (medical students) assess pain during simulated patient interactions. Participants will watch videos depicting patients with varying pain levels, while their brain activity is monitored using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The research aims to understand the neurological and behavioral responses in clinical decision making enhancing our knowledge of clinical practices and patient care.

Participants will complete pre-visit questionnaires at home, engage in simulated clinical interactions during a single lab visit fMRI session, and fill out post-visit questionnaires immediately after the MRI. This study is designed to assess their clinical decision-making in response to pain scenarios.

250-400

Menthol is the active ingredient in topical analgesics. Some manufacturers use special encapsulation techniques in order to prolong the effects of menthol. Our goal is to use intradermal microdialysis to assess how much menthol, along with other organic bioactives, are present in the skin following topical application of various commercially available topical analgesics. We also examine the affect of a menthol-based analgesic gel on the skin blood flow.

There will be a screening visit and then up to seven experiment visits where different topical analgesics will be applied to the forearm skin. We will use intradermal microdialysis and measure skin blood flow.

240