Pain and fatigue are the most common patient-reported symptoms cutting across a broad range of chronic diseases and conditions. They often occur together, yet the association has not been adequately studied and understood, and we lack adequate knowledge about the longitudinal patterns of pain and fatigue.

The specific aims of this project are: 1) to develop a psychometrically validated instrument or battery of instruments for measuring pain, fatigue, social participation, emotional distress, and physical functioning in persons with disabilities; 2) to improve current measures of patient-reported outcomes; and 3) to increase scientific understanding of the course of pain and fatigue and their associations with important outcome measures including depression, participation, and disability level.

Our primary hypothesis is that both pain and fatigue will be significantly associated with participation, contributing above and beyond the effects of depression and disability. We also expect the magnitude of the effect to differ depending on medical diagnosis (multiple sclerosis (MS) or spinal cord injury (SCI).

The proposed study involves two phases:(1) one initial survey of 1000 individuals with MS and SCI (500 of each); and (2) five follow-up surveys at four month intervals of 300 individuals from the initial survey.

The Translational Pain Research Group at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital is conducting clinical trials that evaluate various medications to help relieve chronic neuropathic pain as a result of a Spinal Cord Injury. You may be eligible if you are:

• 18-70 years old
• Have been diagnosed with a Spinal Cord Injury
• Have had chronic neuropathic pain for at least 3 months

For more information call 1-617-525-PAIN (7246) or email us at paintrials@partners.org.

Clinical Trials, Studies & Research Surveys