‘Pain research study needs you!’
Wed, 06 May 2015 10:00:00 BST
‘Researchers wish to hear from people over the age of 18 who DO NOT suffer from chronic pain (> 3 months) to comprise a control group for a research project’
A UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield scientist is leading a project which aims to help people who experience recurrent, long-standing pain that doctors find difficult to treat. But now he urgently needs the help of volunteers who are NOT chronic pain sufferers, because they have a vital role to play in the research.
Dr Patrick McHugh (pictured), who heads biomarkers and stem cells research, has received the British Pain Society’s Clulow Award and this is one of the sources of funding for the project, due to be completed by the close of 2016. It will involve the analysis of blood samples from more than a hundred people who suffer from conditions that include neuropathic pain, back pain and allodynia – pain that results from hyper-sensitivity to touch.
These are highly subjective, individualised, long-standing conditions that pose considerable problems of diagnosis and treatment, and Dr McHugh aims to improve this.
“We want to try and delineate the different types of pain through bio-markers in blood and try and understand the underlying reasons for them, which might be genetic,” he said.
The research team has acquired blood samples of chronic pain sufferers via an NHS clinic. But it now needs a similar number from people who do not share the problem. This is to provide the control sample that is crucial to scientific research.
People aged from 18-80 who are free of chronic pain are eligible. Their motivation might be that have friends or relatives who are sufferers, and therefore would like to contribute to a major study of the problem.
Potential participants will be given further details when they contact the Study Co-ordinator, David Buckley, or Dr McHugh at HuddPainResearch@hotmail.com. Blood samples will be taken at a special clinic at the University of Huddersfield.
