Neuropsychological functions of verbal recall and psychomotor speed significantly affect pain tolerance

Jacobsen, Henrik Børsting; Stubhaug, Audun; Schirmer, Henrik; Landrø, Nils Inge; Wilsgaard, Tom; Mathiesen, Ellisiv B.; Nielsen, Christopher Sivert

doi:10.1002/ejp.1437

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…One should note that 40% of the sale of this medication in Norway is over the counter ( https://www.fhi.no/hn/legemiddelbruk/fakta-om-paracetamol/ ), those who receive the drug as a prescription may have more serious health problems. The low score of paracetamol users may also reflect that cognitive decline weakens cortical suppression of pain stimuli, which may lead to higher paracetamol use [ 29 ]. A similar argument is relevant in the case of NSAIDs, in that some of the more commonly used NSAIDs, such as naproxen and diclofenac, are also sold over the counter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A possible effect of montelukast on neurological aging examined by the use of register data

et al. 2020

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Background The leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast has been shown to rejuvenate aged brains in rats; however, data on humans are still scarce. Objective To investigate if montelukast may alleviate degenerative neurological changes using a register data. Setting Norwegian registry data analyses. Method The present observational study was based on data from the Norwegian Prescription Database and the Tromsø Study. The former has information regarding the use of prescription medicine; the latter includes tests for brain function such as subjective memory and finger-tapping. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to see how the use of various medications correlated with the test results, correcting for likely confounders. Main outcome measure Results on seven different tests considered relevant for neurological health were used as outcome. Results Previous use of montelukast correlated with improved scores on cognitive or neurological functioning (F = 2.20, p = 0.03 in a multivariate test). A range of other medications were tested with the same algorithm, including drugs acting on the immune system, but none of them correlated with (overall) significantly improved test results. Conclusion The present data suggest that montelukast may alleviate degenerative neurological changes associated with human aging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A possible effect of montelukast on neurological aging examined by the use of register data

et al. 2020

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“… 10 This interaction is substantiated by findings on evoked pain in a large population cohort reporting chronic pain. 38 While surprising, there are several well documented reasons for why our finding could occur in the current sample.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Stress specifically deteriorates working memory in peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia

Jacobsen

Brun

Stubhaug

et al. 2023

Brain Communications

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This study aimed to explore the influence of chronic stress, measured through hair cortisol, on executive functions in individuals with chronic pain. We expected that there would be significant differences in chronic stress and executive functioning between pain patients and healthy controls, as well as between primary and secondary pain classifications. We also hypothesized that hair cortisol concentration was predictive of worse performance on tests of executive functions, controlling for objective and subjective covariates. For this study, 122 participants provided a hair sample (n = 40 with fibromyalgia; n = 24 with peripheral neuropathic pain; n = 58 matched healthy controls). Eighty-four of these participants also completed highly detailed testing of executive functions (n = 40 with fibromyalgia; n = 24 with peripheral neuropathic pain; n = 20 healthy controls). To assess differences in stress levels and executive functions, t-tests were used to compare patients with controls as well as fibromyalgia with peripheral neuropathic pain. Then, univariate regressions were used to explore associations between stress and executive functioning in both chronic pain classifications. Any significant univariate associations were carried over to hierarchical multivariate regression models. We found that patients with chronic pain had significantly higher cortisol levels than healthy controls, but all groups showed similar executive functioning. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses disclosed that in a model controlling for age, sex and pain medication usage, hair cortisol levels explained 8% of the variance in spatial working memory strategy in individuals with chronic pain. The overall model explained 24% of the variance in spatial working memory. In a second model using imputed data, including both objective and subjectively reported covariates, hair cortisol levels explained 9% of the variance, and the full model 31% of the variance in spatial working memory performance. Higher levels of cortisol indicated worse performance. In this study, an applied measure of chronic stress, namely hair cortisol, explained a substantial part of the variance on a spatial working memory task. The current results have important implications for understanding and treating cognitive impairments in chronic pain.

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Associations between cognitive test scores and pain tolerance: The Tromsø study

Melum,

Steingrímsdóttir,

Jacobsen

et al. 2024

Scandinavian Journal of Pain

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Objectives Previous studies have suggested that experimental pain sensitivity is associated with cognitive function. The aim of this study is to assess this relationship in a large population-based sample. Methods We included 5,753 participants (aged 40–84 years) from the seventh wave of the population-based Tromsø Study who had been examined with cognitive tests and experimental pain assessments, and for whom information on covariates were available. Cox regression models were fitted using standardized scores on cognitive tests (12-word immediate recall test, digit symbol coding test, and Mini-Mental State Examination [MMS-E]) as the independent variable and cold pressor or cuff pressure pain tolerance as the dependent variables. Statistical adjustment was made for putative confounders, namely, age, sex, education, smoking, exercise, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, symptoms indicating anxiety or depression, analgesic use, and chronic pain. Results In multivariate analysis, cold pressor tolerance time was significantly associated with test scores on the 12-word immediate recall test (hazard ratio [HR] 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90–0.97, p < 0.001), the digit symbol coding test (HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.89–0.98, p = 0.004), and the MMS-E (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.90–0.96 p < 0.001). Tolerance to cuff pressure algometry was significantly associated with 12-word immediate recall (HR 0.94–0.97, p < 0.001) and Digit Symbol Coding test scores (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.89–0.96, p < 0.001) while there was no significant association with Mini Mental State Examination test score (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.95–1.00, p = 0.082). Conclusion Lower pain tolerance was associated with poorer performance on cognitive tests.

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Neuropsychological functions of verbal recall and psychomotor speed significantly affect pain tolerance

Cited by 3 publications

References 41 publications

A possible effect of montelukast on neurological aging examined by the use of register data

A possible effect of montelukast on neurological aging examined by the use of register data

Stress specifically deteriorates working memory in peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia

Associations between cognitive test scores and pain tolerance: The Tromsø study

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