N. Knezevic

Evaluating IMMPACT Criteria for the Clinical Meaningfulness of Between-Group Differences: Interpreting Randomized Trial Results within a Context of Existing Chronic Pain Analgesics

Abstract The Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT) has published methods and consensus benchmarks for determining the clinical meaningfulness of analgesic clinical trial results. However, results are commonly misinterpreted when within-subject thresholds for clinical meani...

Translating Evidence to Practice: A Critical and Analytical Summary of the Evidence-Based Guidelines of Facet Joint Interventions in Management of Chronic Spinal Pain.

Priming the Brain Before Chemotherapy: Chronic Stress and HPA-Axis Dysregulation in Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is often attributed to chemotherapy, yet cognitive deficits are detectable in some patients before systemic treatment begins. This review examines a proposed two-hit framework in which cancer-related psychological and physiological stress contributes to pretreatment neural vul...

Neurobiological and Neuroimmune Mechanisms Linking Chronic Pain, Sleep Disturbances and Mental Health Disorders

Chronic pain, sleep disturbances, and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression disorders frequently co-occur, forming a self-reinforcing cycle that impairs daily functioning and quality of life. Chronic pain is driven by peripheral and central sensitization, the latter sustained by reciprocal microglial–a...

Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms Linking Mood Disorders, HPA Axis Dysregulation, and Neurocognitive Inflammation to Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders

Patients with preexisting mood disorders may enter surgery in a biologically sensitized neuroimmune state, lowering the threshold for exaggerated neuroinflammatory responses and postoperative cognitive dysfunction, according to a review of convergent pathophysiologic pathways.