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The Role of Epigenetic Mechanisms in Stress Intolerance in Patients With Chronic Widespread Pain

NCT06475859 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 84

Last updated 2025-09-19

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Patients with chronic widespread pain (CWP) frequently experience stress intolerance - an exacerbation of symptoms in response to stress. Although it severely affects their quality of life, stress intolerance remains a mystery. Hence, unravelling the mechanisms underlying stress intolerance is crucial to understand CWP pathophysiology and to develop novel treatments. Epigenetic mechanisms hold the potential to provide an answer as they have been found to be altered in patients with CWP at baseline, and in response to stress. However, research on epigenetic mechanisms in CWP is very scarce. Hence, this study aims to address this knowledge gap by assessing stress-induced epigenetic changes in patients with CWP and healthy controls aiming to unravel whether epigenetic mechanisms can help explain stress intolerance. The regulatory role of epigenetic mechanisms will be researched in relation to the activity of enzymes affected by the epigenetic mechanisms, neurophysiological measures, and stress-induced symptom changes in patients with CWP.

Conditions

  • Chronic Widespread Pain

Interventions

OTHER

Montreal Imaging Stress Test

A mental stress test that induces stress via a series of arithmetic tasks participants need to solve in a few seconds.

OTHER

Relaxation breathing

3 short sessions (4 minutes) of relaxation breathing

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Research Foundation Flanders

    collaborator OTHER

  • KU Leuven

    collaborator OTHER

  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Jo Nijs, PhD · Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
70 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-04-19
Primary Completion
2025-04-18
Completion
2025-04-18

Countries

  • Belgium

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06475859 on ClinicalTrials.gov