Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.

Topic Editor John Streicher is a co-founder and equity partner of Teleport Pharmaceuticals, LLC. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic subject.

New updated edition first published with Cambridge University Press. This new edition includes 29 chapters on topics as diverse as pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, vascular haemodynamics, haemostasis, thrombophilia and post-amputation pain syndromes.

Acute pain has a physiological protective role in preventing tissue damage. However, pain can become chronic due to a multitude of pathophysiological states, such as: trauma, inflammation, neural injury, viral infection, cancer, autoimmune diseases and vascular and metabolic disorders. These pathological states can trigger alterations of the pain pathways that can lead to hypersensitivity, and in such circumstances, pain loses its protective role and instead, becomes persistent and debilitating affecting seriously to the quality of life of patients. Chronic pain is one of the most important health problems worldwide. It has been estimated that 10% of adults are diagnosed with chronic pain each year. However, despite the high prevalence of chronic pain, its management is still no fully satisfactory probably due to the variety of chronic pain conditions with different etiologies (neuropathic, visceral and musculoskeletal pain), and because their pathophysiological mechanisms are only partially known. Therefore, there is a huge need for new effective therapies for the control and/or prevention of the different types of chronic pain. Chronic pain is associated with plastic changes in pain circuits of the peripheral and central nervous system, including changes in the expression of ion channels, neurotransmitters and receptors. In addition, there is growing consensus on non-neuronal mechanisms that can amplify or resolve chronic pain, and cells traditionally thought to act just as coordinators of the inflammatory response (such as immune and glial cells) are now accepted as real modulators of pain signaling. In this regard, animal models of persistent pain, such as models of neuropathic and visceral pain and models of arthritis, are helping to elucidate our understanding of the pathogenesis of chronic pain and make it possible to test experimental treatments.

Chronic pain costs the nation up to $635 billion each year in medical treatment and lost productivity. The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enlist the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in examining pain as a public health problem. In this report, the IOM offers a blueprint for action in transforming prevention, care, education, and research, with the goal of providing relief for people with pain in America. To reach the vast multitude of people with various types of pain, the nation must adopt a population-level prevention and management strategy. The IOM recommends that HHS develop a comprehensive plan with specific goals, actions, and timeframes. Better data are needed to help shape efforts, especially on the groups of people currently underdiagnosed and undertreated, and the IOM encourages federal and state agencies and private organizations to accelerate the collection of data on pain incidence, prevalence, and treatments. Because pain varies from patient to patient, healthcare providers should increasingly aim at tailoring pain care to each person's experience, and self-management of pain should be promoted. In addition, because there are major gaps in knowledge about pain across health care and society alike, the IOM recommends that federal agencies and other stakeholders redesign education programs to bridge these gaps. Pain is a major driver for visits to physicians, a major reason for taking medications, a major cause of disability, and a key factor in quality of life and productivity. Given the burden of pain in human lives, dollars, and social consequences, relieving pain should be a national priority.

Covering the newest trends and treatments in pain care, as well as the pain treatment strategies that have been successfully employed in the past, Pain Care Essentials and Innovations brings you fully up to date with effective treatments for acute and chronic pain. It offers expert guidance on both interventional and non-interventional strategies, provided by respected academic physiatrists who practice evidence-based medicine at UCLA and an ACGME-accredited rehabilitation and pain program. Covers cannabinoids in pain care, novel therapeutics in pain medicine, and integrative care in pain management. Discusses relevant basic science, psychological aspects of pain care, opioids and practice guidelines, geriatric pain management, and future research in the field. Consolidates today’s available information and guidance into a single, convenient resource.

Pain is the most common symptom bringing a patient to a physician's attention. Physicians training in pain medicine may originate from different disciplines and approach the field with varying backgrounds and experience. This book captures the theory and evidence-based practice of behavioral, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatments in modern pain medicine. The book's contributors span the fields of psychiatry, psychology, anesthesia, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and nursing. Thus the structure and content of the book convey the interdisciplinary approach that is the current standard for the successful practice of pain management. The book is designed to be used as a text for training fellowships in pain medicine, as well as graduate courses in psychology, nursing, and other health professions.

One of the Most Rapidly Advancing Fields in Modern Neuroscience The success of molecular biology and the new tools derived from molecular genetics have revolutionized pain research and its translation to therapeutic effectiveness. Bringing together recent advances in modern neuroscience regarding genetic studies in mice and humans and the practical

This book provides an invaluable framework and basis for thinking about chronic pain and the potential for its prevention in public health terms.

The relationship between chronic pain and addiction Patients with chronic pain understandably seek relief from their distress and discomfort, but many medications that alleviate pain are potentially addictive, and most chronic pain conditions only have a temporary response to opiate analgesic drugs. This volume reviews the fundamental topics that underlie the complex relationships of this controversial domain. The authors review behavioral models and practical methods for understanding and treating chronic pain and addiction including methods to formulate patients with complex comorbidity and screen patients with chronic pain for addictive liability. Finally, the authors describe the current findings from clinical and basic science that illuminate the role of opiates, cannabinoids and ketamine in the treatment of chronic pain. Up to date and comprehensive, this book is relevant to all professionals engaged in the care of patients with chronic pain or addiction and all others interested in these contemporary issues, particularly non-clinicians seeking clarity in the controversy over the best approach to patients with chronic pain.