Speakers can check in at the lounge, submit their final slides, and prepare for presentations throughout NeuPSIG 2023. 

The diagnosis of neuropathic pain requires abnormal somatosensory findings that are logically related to the neuroanatomy and are consistent with a specific lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. In addition to obtaining pain history, as well as information on its quality, severity, and interference, the assessment of somatosensory function should comprehensive, to determine the presence of any negative neurological signs (sensory loss) or positive neurological signs (sensory gain).

This hands-on workshop will focus on the key approaches for comprehensive assessment of somatosensory function – which are a) neurological examination, as the gold standard for clinical practice, and b) quantitative sensory testing, which depending on the particular approach, can be performed in the research or clinical settings.

Specifically, one of the workshop stations will be dedicated to neurological examination by an experienced neurologist, two stations will focus on mechanical and thermal aspects of classic quantitative sensory testing, respectively, and another station will specifically focus on bedside QST approaches for more rapid quantitative assessment of somatosensory function.

Attendees will rotate between all four stations.  

Early Career delegates are invited to stop by and network with colleagues.

The pain experience reflects the interaction of diverse genetic and epigenetic factors, and environmental factors. This complexity necessitates the need to establish more relevant pre-clinical models to investigate sensory neuron physiology and disease pathophysiology, with the intention to inform the development of more effective treatment for pain disorders. This workshop will cover examples of how cell-based experiments are being conducted to understand changes in excitability of sensory neurons are heavily linked to the onset and maintenance of pain. To understand how these changes occur after disease or injury, this workshop will discuss dynamic regulation of axonal trafficking of ion channels that are implicated in nociception. Detailed assessments of human sensory neurons derived from iPSCs are leading to the identification not only of causative mutations, but also being used as pain-in-a-dish cellular models to fill gaps in our understanding of clinical phenotypes, and as cellular models to test effective treatment options. Finally, natural pain-inducing toxins are leading to new discoveries including deorphanizing members of the dispanin family as the first NaV channel-interacting proteins that are indispensable for toxin-mediated effects on NaV channel gating, providing insights into the function of these channels in sensory neurons. 

Involving people with lived experience of pain at all stages of research is increasingly recognised by funders, researchers, and the public as necessary for relevant, robust, and impactful research.  Successful (reverse) translation depends not just on using relevant preclinical models but using robust patient and public involvement (PPI) to ensure relevant research questions are asked and tested in appropriate populations. 

PAINSTORM is a UK-wide research consortium focusing on neuropathic pain, funded (£3M) through the Advanced Pain Discovery Platform. People with lived experience of neuropathic pain have been centrally involved with PAINSTORM since its inception, including shaping the study design in the pre-funding phase. Based on this and related experience/evidence, speakers will provide an interactive session focused on three areas of PPI in pain research: (1) what PPI is, what it is not, why it is essential, and how to build PPI confidence and capacity; (2) a case study of the importance and impact of PPI in the PAINSTORM consortium including practical tips and resources to support PPI and its evaluation; and (3) the lived experience perspective of being involved in pain research, education, publishing, and pushing forward ground-breaking initiatives through IASP’s Global Alliance of Partners for Pain Advocacy (GAPPA).

Neuropathic pain is linked to ongoing activity of peripheral nerve fibers. Although we have some ideas on which components may contribute to this phenomenon, we are still in the dark on its underlying mechanism in human nociceptors and sensory neurons. New, innovative approaches are needed to improve our capability to investigate nociceptor’s spontaneous activity. In this symposium we aim to discuss cutting-edge tools that are providing new mechanistic information on the origin of spontaneous activity of peripheral nerve fibers at the cellular and molecular level. We will present new multi-electrode-array (MEA) recording tools (Aguiar) for assessing neuronal excitability in cell cultures. These tools can be used to their full translational potential by using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived nociceptors, for which we present differentiation approaches (Röderer) and biophysical analysis of pain linked spontaneous activity and hyperexcitability (Eberhardt). In an attempt to recreate a nerve in a dish, we will present results of the combination of MEAs with microfluidics and their use with iPSC derived neurons. Experimental findings are integrated into an in silico simulation of a peripheral nerve ending (Tigerholm), linking wet lab results with observations during microneurography recordings in humans. 

Neuropathic pain is responsible for a major socio-economic burden and is considered as highly difficult to treat. Evidence based guidelines are mandatory to guide the appropriate use of therapies in clinical practice. In 2015 the NeuPSIG published the first international recommendations based on a large systematic review and meta-analysis for the pharmacotherapy of neuropathic pain (Finnerup et al 2015). Since these recommendations, newer therapies for neuropathic pain have emerged including drug treatments but also neurostimulation techniques, for which randomized placebo-controlled trials have also been conducted. To encompass these newer therapeutic strategies, the NeuPSIG has committed a large international group of experts of over 30 researchers, from over 10 countries, aiming to revise prior guidelines which were focused on pharmacotherapy and expand the search to neurostimulation techniques. The workshop will present the systematic review and meta-analytical methods and summarize the main results which will be used to inform the revised NeuPSIG evidence based guidelines. 

Speakers:

Belinda Shearer

Global Insights & Analytics Director at Haleon

Cécile Nathan-Tilloy

Global Head of Client Strategy - Edelman Data & Intelligence

This session has been developed and supported by Haleon.  No continuing education credits are available for this session.