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Published on: July 29, 2014
Offset analgesia is reduced in older adults
Kelly M Naugle1, Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, Roger B Fillingim
1College of Dentistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Pain
|July 23, 2013
Summary
Older adults exhibit diminished pain inhibition, known as offset analgesia, particularly on the forearm. This age-related decline in pain modulation may be linked to reduced endogenous inhibitory systems.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Pain Research
Background:
- Aging is linked to impaired pain modulation, potentially increasing pain incidence in older adults.
- Offset analgesia, a form of temporal pain inhibition, is not well understood in the context of aging.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate age-related differences in heat pain offset analgesia.
- Explore peripheral mechanisms of offset analgesia by testing two distinct anatomical sites.
Main Methods:
- 25 younger and 20 older adults participated.
- Heat pain stimuli were applied to the volar forearm and palm, involving phases of sustained and altered temperature.
- Participants continuously rated pain intensity using a visual analogue scale.
Main Results:
- Older adults showed significantly reduced offset analgesia on the volar forearm compared to younger adults.
- Offset analgesia was absent in all participants when tested on the palm.
- Reduced offset in older adults suggests potential age-related decline in endogenous inhibitory systems.
Conclusions:
- Offset analgesia is diminished in older adults on the forearm, indicating age-related changes in pain modulation.
- The absence of offset analgesia on the palm suggests peripheral mechanisms may initiate this pain inhibitory phenomenon.
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