New Publication on Insomnia and Knee Pain
It’s understood that insomnia often co-occurs with chronic knee pain. Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, may play a role in the sleep-pain relationship.
In the article, ‘Epigenetic Difference Between Insomnia Group and Noninsomnia Group in Participants with Knee Pain,’ researchers from PRICE including, Soamy Montesino Goicolea, Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, Roger Fillingim and Joseph Riley, worked alongside researchers from across the country to identify differentially methylated regions and enriched genomic pathways associated with insomnia in participants with knee pain using extracted DNA from peripheral blood.
The outcomes of their testing pointed towards the importance of epigenetic regulation of the immune system in pertinence to the sleep-pain relationship.
Their article has been published in Innovation in Aging and can be located here!
New Publication on Brain Age Gap and Musculoskeletal Pain
When it comes to the relationship between chronic musculoskeletal pain, protective factors and brain aging, there is still much to understand.
In a recent study, researchers from PRICE and the University of Florida including Jared Tanner, Angela Mickle, Emily Bartley, Roland Staud, Roger Fillingim and Kimberly Sibille hypothesized that higher reported chronic pain would be closely linked to older appearing brains. From measuring multiple characteristics and factors of pain and pain intensity, they were able to deduce the Brain Age Gaps between predicted brain age and chronological age. The findings from the multisite study confirmed the hypothesis and hinted that interventions targeting both chronic pain and biobehavioral and psychosocial factors could buffer brain aging.
The article, ‘56 Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain, Biobehavioral and Psychosocial Resilience Index, and Brain Age Gap’ has been published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society and can be viewed here!