Biomarkers in Pain and Pain Treatment

Summary

The goal of this research project is to explore if levels of inflammation predict levels of comorbid mood disorders and treatment success in chronic pain patients. More knowledge in this respect will advance our understanding of chronic pain and comorbid syndromes, and facilitate subgroupings of patients based on the presence and/or level of low-grade inflammation. This research is an important step towards finding an explanation to why treatment effects following behavioral interventions differ across individuals, and generate new hypothesis regarding novel treatment approaches. The specific aims are: 1) to explore if baseline levels of inflammatory biomarkers predict the effects of behavioral intervention and 2) to investigate if baseline levels of inflammatory biomarkers are associated with psychological co-morbidity (e.g. depression, anxiety and fatigue) in patients with chronic pain.

Conditions

• Chronic Pain
• Inflammation

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

The main component in the treatment is exposure to symptoms and feared situations. The iACT program is adapted from the evidence based face-to-face treatment at the Behavioral Medicine unit at Karolinska University Hospital. The iACT program has a different structure but is equal in content to face-to-face treatment, and is to be completed within ten weeks. Participants receive texts, audio files, movies and exercises and have online contact with their psychologist via an internet platform or a smart phone application. The treatment aims to encourage valued behaviors in the presence of inner discomfort.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• AFA Insurance

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• The Swedish Society of Medicine

  collaborator OTHER

• Rikard Wicksell

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Rikard Wicksell, PhD · Karolinska Institutet

• Bianka Karshikoff, PhD · Karolinska Institutet

• Linda Holmström, PhD · Karolinska Institutet

• Mats Lekander, PhD · Karolinska Institutet

• Jenny Åström, lic psych · Karolinska University Hospital

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2016-12-06

Primary Completion

2018-12-12