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Medical Professionals

Andrea Nackley Neely, PhD
 

Fibromyalgia (FM), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), vulvar vestibulitis syndrome (WS), and episodic migraine (EM) are prevalent complex persistent pain conditions (CPPCs). CPPCs commonly aggregate as comorbid conditions and are characterized by a report of pain greater than expected upon physical examination. Because we do not understand the efiology of CPPCs, patients receive inadequate treatment and suffer severe physiologic, psychologic, and socioeconomic consequences. Recent studies suggest that CPPCs are mediated in large part by genefic variability which can produce functional consequences on the amount and/or activity of proteins, which regulate downstream signaling events that impact pain-relevant processes. However, little is known about the specific nature of the relationship between genotype and biologic activity and their relevance to clinical phenotype. Thus, the objective of the Molecular Profiling Core is to identify biologic mediators that contribute to CPPCs. This goal will be achieved through execution of three specific aims. In Aim I, FM, IBS, WS, and EM cases and pain free controls (N = 300 per group) will be genotyped using the Pain Research Panel developed by our investigative team to measure neariy 3,000 polymorphisms in 350 genes whose protein products are linked to biologic pathways that influence pain transmission, inflammatory response, or psychological state. In Aim II, changes in the expression of proteins corresponding to the 350 genes represented on the Pain Research Panel will be measured in plasma and leukocytes from cases and controls using custom protein microarray technology. Results of these studies will allow us to evaluate changes in protein expression patterns that direcfiy result from functional polymorphisms. Moreover, they will inform the design of studies associated with Aim III, which is to create a lymphoblast repository that will provide an in vivo system within which to model cell signaling processes based on genefic and protein analyses. Elucidating the pathophysiologic mechanisms that underlie CPPCs will facilitate the long-term goal of our program which is to provide more accurate subdiagnoses as well as individualized therapeutic regimens to individuals who suffer from these conditions.

Complex Persistent Pain Conditions: Unique and Shared Pathways of Vulnerability
Complex persistent pain conditions (CPPCs) such as headache conditions, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, and vulvar vestibulitis are high prevalent and shared or comorbid chronic pain conditions. There are two features of CPPCs that are fundamental to the aims and goals of this proposal: 1) the etiology of CPPCs is multifactorial and 2) the clinical manifestations of CPPCs are diverse. In this Program Project, we expect to identify a mosaic of risk factors for each of five CPPCs: fibromyalgia (FM), episodic migraine (EM), vulvar vestibulitis (VVS), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). Furthermore, we expect to characterize clusters of patients within each CPPC that vary significantly according to manifestations of their condition in addition to its painful characteristics (e.g., fatigue, dysfunction, sleep loss). Importantly, we expect some clusters of patients to be more alike across CPPCs than within any single CPPC, consistent with our view that there is some overlap in the manifestations of CPPCs. A unifying hypothesis integrating this Program is that multiple genetic factors, when coupled with environmental exposures (e.g. injury, infections, physical and psychological stress), increase the susceptibility to highly prevalent CPPCs by enhancing pain sensitivity and/or increasing psychological distress. To address the aims and goals of the subprojects and cores described in this application, a group of accomplished pain clinicians, pain researchers, psychophysiologists, molecular and cellular geneticists, biostatisticians and epidemiologists have been brought together to form this Program. Studies proposed in this Program Project application seek to identify the psychological and physiological risk factors, clusters, and associated genetic polymorphisms, that influence pain amplification and psychological profiles in enrollees who have established CPPDs. Additionally, the proposed studies seek to characterize the biological pathways through which these genetic variations causally influence CPPCs.

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The National Vulvodynia Association is a nonprofit organization that strives to improve women's lives through education, support, advocacy and research funding. The NVA is not a medical authority and strongly recommends that you consult your own health care provider regarding any course of treatment or medication.

Last Updated on February 2, 2012