Robert Gereau, PhD receives 2017 Frederick W.L. Kerr Basic Science Research Award

This award and lectureship were established in 1987 in honor of Frederick W. L. Kerr, a founder of the American Pain Society, to recognize individual excellence and achievement in pain scholarship. Since then, the Kerr medallion has been presented to 25 outstanding pain professionals—researchers and clinicians—whose career achievements have made important contributions to the field […]

Zapping nerves offers major pain relief (Links to an external site)

A new non-surgical, minimally invasive procedure offers relief to patients who suffer from severe joint pain. Whether it’s an aching back, knee, hip or neck pain, Cooled Radiofrequency can provide patients who suffer from chronic pain a new lease on life.

Dr. Simon Haroutounian named Chief of Clinical Research for the Washington University Pain Center

Simon Haroutounian, PhD, joined the faculty of the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University School of Medicine in 2014 after completing his PhD in Pharmaceutical Science at The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and postdoctoral training under Troels Jensen at Aarhus University and the Danish Pain Research Center. Dr. Haroutounian’s research interests are in the area of […]

Clinical Studies for Chronic Pain

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy [DPN] is caused by diabetes-related damage to the nerves (neuropathy), mainly in the feet, and sometimes in the legs and the hands. It affects more than 3 million Americans and is leading cause of nerve damage-associated pain (neuropathic pain) worldwide. Currently approved drugs such as gabapentin, pregabalin, and duloxetine provide pain relief […]

Translational Research at the WUPC using Human Neurons

The Gold Standard: Studies of Human Nociceptors Taking Off Thanks to organ donors, researchers are finding ways to access coveted cells by Stephani Sutherland on 19 Dec 2014 In the wake of failed clinical trials based on animal models, the pain field is facing what seems to be an inescapable conclusion: the success of new […]

Relief from Shingle Pain

Shingles (herpes zoster), an often a very painful disease, is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have chickenpox, the virus remains inactive in certain nerves of your body. If the virus becomes active again when you are an adult, you get shingles. Symptoms For some people the nerve pain persists well […]

Dr. DP Mohapatra, an expert in bone pain associated with cancer, joins the faculty of the Washington University Pain Center

Durga P. (DP) Mohapatra, PhD has joined the faculty of the Department of Anesthesiology as an Associate Professor in the Washington University Pain Center.  DP joins us from the University of Iowa where he was on faculty for seven years. The major research focus of Dr. Mohapatra’s laboratory is to define the precise tumor-nerve signaling […]

Light — not pain-killing drugs — used to activate brain’s opioid receptors

Despite the abuse potential of opioid drugs, they have long been the best option for patients suffering from severe pain. The drugs interact with receptors on brain cells to tamp down the body’s pain response. But now, neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way to activate opioid receptors […]