Mechanisms Underlying Endometriosis and Migraine Comorbidity
Washington University School of Medicine
Summary
This study aims to determine differences in experimental pain and sex hormone levels between patients with migraine, patients with endometriosis, patients with migraine and endometriosis, and healthy controls. Participants will complete surveys, experimental pain paradigms and collection of samples for hormone analyses.
Description
Participants will be recruited via the pain, headache and Ob/Gyn clinics, via Volunteers for Health, via other studies in the lab, study staff, and via EPIC. When potential participants are inquiring about studies with the Pain the Lifespan Lab, the study team will describe this study among the options. Potential participants might be identified via EPIC records using age, sex, diagnoses, notes, problem list, medications, and phone number. A research staff member will contact a potential participant and provide a description of the project. Potentially eligible participants will be invited to…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 12–45 years
- Sex
- Female
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with diagnosed endometriosis, migraine, or both endometriosis and migraine 2. Healthy control subjects with no history of chronic pain 3. Age 12-45 4. Assigned female sex at birth Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pregnancy or breastfeeding 2. Presence of prolactinoma 3. Presence of psychiatric, neurological, endocrinological and/or developmental conditions and taking medications for these conditions 4. Current use of dopamine agonist or SSRI medications 5. For patients aged 12-17 not having a parent/legal guardian willing to sign the consent and answer surveys about th…
Interventions
- DeviceThermal stimuli
The Thermal Sensory Analyzer (TSA-II or PATHWAY platform - Medoc, Ramat Yishai, Israel) will be used to safely deliver heat and cold stimuli. These devices can deliver relatively complex stimuli via computer control. All targeted stimulus temperatures will be less than 50°C, and participants will be free to remove their arm or leg at any time from the thermode. Noxious cold stimuli will also be delivered with a plastic water container or a water bath (FISHER, USA). Participants will be free to pull out of the water bath at any time
- DevicePressure stimuli
Pressure stimuli will be applied by using a handheld algometer (Wagner Instruments) or the Pressure Algometer (Medoc, Ramat Yishai, Israel). These devices have a round probe that allows quantifying the amount of pressure that is being applied. The Pressure Algometer allows a real-time visual feedback to control and monitor applied pressure rates. Pressure will be applied to the lower leg, volar forearm, or trapezius.
- BehavioralPain ratings
Pain intensity and pain unpleasantness ratings will be assessed.
- BehavioralConditioned pain modulation (CPM) response
The CPM paradigm assesses endogenous inhibitory pain modulation efficiency. CPM testing includes the application of a "test" stimulus without conditioning (control run, pressure pain thresholds) and a subsequent application of the same test stimulus together with a conditioning stimulus (conditioning run, a 60 second of foot immersion in cold water). The CPM response is the difference in the pressure pain thresholds between the control and the conditioning runs.
Location
- Washington University School of MedicineSt Louis, Missouri