Epigenetic Influences on Post-Surgical Acute and Chronic Pain

NCT02002520 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: UW13-354
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 120
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

Pain is the way our brain interprets certain bodily sensations. It is very difficult to describe or to put into words as perception and tolerance of pain varies widely between individuals. It is known that age, gender and past experience and memory of past experience all contribute to patients' feelings of discomfort and tolerance of pain, but the reason why some patients actually do not experience any pain at all post surgery is still unknown. Because pain affects every person at some point in their lives, it is of utmost importance that we can find more effective analgesic methods, and provide analgesia tailored to an individual's need as well as discovering new methods which may be able to identify those individuals who are more prone to suffering serious, or chronic pain. It has been proposed that epigenetic modifications may play a role in sensitivity to analgesia and response to trauma, such as post surgery. The effects of epigenetic changes on key genes and the role this plays in analgesia sensitivity and pain perception is deserving of further research. Epigenetics is a growing field of study in which there are genetic modifications that do not involve changes to base sequences in a gene, but that result nonetheless in changes to gene expression. It has long been known that changes in gene expression play an important role in the establishment of pain states. But it is not known whether a priming injury can induce lasting epigenetic marks which would result in an increase in both postoperative acute pain and the risk for chronic pain. Only by fully understanding these epigenetic mechanisms will we be able to offer better drugs for the treatment of pain, and to identify those at high risk of postoperative pain and postsurgical chronic pain. The purpose of this study is to determine whether severity of pain following surgical procedures, such as third molar surgery is related to baseline methylation status of the promoter region of IL-6 and TNF-α and changes in methylation status post surgery.

Conditions

Acute Pain

Keywords

Acute pain; Epigenetic; Dental pain

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• pain score

  From postoperative 1 hour to postoperative 3 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• IL-6 and TNF-α expression

  From postoperative 1 hr to postoperative 3 month

Study Arms (2)

case group

patients undergo third molar surgery

control group

subjects do not require surgery

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Subjects at Prince Philip Dental Hospital and Queen Mary Hospital

You may qualify if:

• Patient requires third molar surgery for case group and patient does not require surgery for control group
• Age 18 or above
• Ability to read and understand the study information and consent form
• Written consent obtained

You may not qualify if:

• Patient does not requires third molar surgery for case group and patient requires third molar surgery for control group
• Age below 18
• Major cognitive or psychiatric disorders that affect the ability to complete study
• Refuse to participate

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead

Study Sites (2)

Department of Anaesthesiology, The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, 0000, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

Department of Anaesthesiology, The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, 0000, Hong Kong

NOT YET RECRUITING

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITH DNA

RNA and DNA

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Acute Pain; Toothache

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Tooth Diseases; Stomatognathic Diseases; Facial Pain

Study Officials

• Chi W Cheung

  Department of Anaesthesiology, The University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Chi W Cheung

CONTACT

852 22553303; cheuncw@hku.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 30, 2013
• First Posted: December 6, 2013
• Study Start: January 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: September 1, 2014
• Study Completion: November 1, 2014
• Last Updated: January 22, 2014

Record last verified: 2014-01

Locations

HK (2)