| Room 209 (Washington DC Convention Center) | |||
| Peripheral and Supraspinal Mechanisms of Above-level Pain Following Spinal Cord Injury | |||
| In recent years, there have been significant advances in our appreciation of the impact of above-level pain on the lives of people with spinal cord injury (SCI), as well as an understanding of mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of post-SCI pain. We now know that peripheral and supraspinal changes contribute significantly to chronic pain after SCI, adding to an established body of knowledge implicating the spinal cord itself in abnormal pain processing. In this symposium, Dr. Widerström-Noga will discuss details of the clinical picture, and prevalence of chronic above-level pain in persons with SCI. Specifically, the characteristics of both spontaneous (nociceptive and neuropathic) and evoked pain will be presented. Furthermore, the clinical significance of these pains relative to pain at or below the level of injury and will be reviewed. Dr. Carlton will describe data linking changes in forelimb primary afferent nociceptors, dorsal root reflexes, and neurogenic inflammation that leads to peripheral sensitization of primary afferent fibers which sensitizes dorsal horn neurons after SCI. Dr. Hains will focus on changes in the expression of the Nav1.3 sodium channel in spinal and supraspinal structures after SCI, and functional alterations in neurophysiologic processing that underlie abnormal pain signal generation and amplification. | |||
| Moderator: | Bryan Hains, PhD | ||
| Presenters: | Eva Widerstrom-Noga, DDS, PhD Susan M. Carlton, PhD Bryan Hains, PhD | ||
| Supraspinal mechanisms of pain following spinal cord injury Bryan Hains, PhD | |||
| The clinical problem of pain after Spinal Cord Injury Eva Widerstrom-Noga, DDS, PhD | |||
| Peripheral Sensitization and Dorsal Root Reflexes: New Players In Spinal Cord Injury Pain Susan M. Carlton, PhD | |||
[Handout]
Return to the Schedule of Events
See more of Symposia