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Chronic pain linked to depression: Study

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New York: Chronic pain can also lead to anxiety and depression as brain inflammation caused by long-term nerve pain alters activity in areas that regulate mood and motivation, says new research.

This finding published online in the Journal of Neuroscience could lead to new approaches for treating chronic pain.

“For over 20 years, scientists have been trying to unlock the mechanisms at work that connect opioid use, pain relief, depression and addiction,” said one of the researchers Catherine Cahill, associate professor of anesthesiology & perioperative care at University of California, Irvine in the US.

“Our findings represent a paradigm shift which has broad implications that are not restricted to the problem of pain and may translate to other disorders,” Cahill said.

In work with rodents, the researchers discovered that pain-derived brain inflammation causes the accelerated growth and activation of immune cells called microglia.

These cells trigger chemical signals within neurons that restrict the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. The study also reveals why opioid drugs such as morphine can be ineffective against chronic pain.

Morphine and its derivatives normally stimulate the release of dopamine. But in research on mice and rats in chronic pain, Cahill and her colleagues learned that these drugs failed to stimulate a dopamine response, resulting in impaired reward-motivated behaviour.

“Treating these animals in chronic pain with a drug that inhibits microglial activation restored dopamine release and reward-motivated behaviour,” Cahill added.

Corona

Covid toll in Karnataka is a worrying sign for state government

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Even though Karnataka recorded the lowest number of Covid deaths in April since the virus struck first in 2020, the state is recording a rise in the positivity rate (1.50 per cent). Five people died from the Covid infections in April as per the statistics released by the state health department. In March, the positivity rate stood around 0.53 per cent. In the first week of April it came down to 0.38 per cent, second week registered 0.56 per cent, third week it rose to 0.79 per cent and by end of April the Covid positivity rate touched 1.19 per cent.

on an average 500 persons used to succumb everyday in the peak of Covid infection, as per the data. Health experts said that the mutated Coronavirus is losing its fierce characteristics as vaccination, better treatment facilities and awareness among the people have contributed to the lesser number of Covid deaths.

During the 4th and 6th of April two deaths were reported in Bengaluru, one in Gadag district on April 8, two deaths were reported from Belagavi and Vijayapura on April 30. The first Covid case was reported in the state in March 2020 and three Covid deaths were recorded in the month. In the following month 21 people became victims to the deadly virus, and May 2020 recorded 22 deaths. The death toll recorded everyday after May crossed three digits. However, the third wave, which started in January 2

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