title: Current challenges in translational pain research.
abstract: The current gap between basic science research and the development of new analgesics presents a serious challenge for the future of pain medicine. This challenge is particularly difficult in the search for better treatment for comorbid chronic pain conditions because: (i) animal 'pain' models do not simulate multidimensional clinical pain conditions; (ii) animal behavioral testing does not assess subjective pain experience; (iii) preclinical data provide little assurance regarding the direction of new analgesic development; and (iv) clinical trials routinely use over-sanitized study populations and fail to capture the multidisciplinary consequences of comorbid chronic pain. Therefore, a paradigm shift in translational pain research is necessary to transform the current strategy from focusing on molecular switches of nociception to studying pain as a system-based integral response that includes psychosocial comorbidities. Several key issues of translational pain research are discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: MGH Center for Translational Pain Research, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. jmao@partners.org
authors.forename: Jianren
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mao
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D059225:Nociception; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics