Circulating Lipids and Acute Pain Sensitization: An Exploratory Analysis.
Angela Starkweather, Thomas Julian, Divya Ramesh and 5 others
PMID 29095376WHAT IT FOUND
In 30 people with acute low back pain, four blood lipids differed between those with and without pain sensitization, but predicted sensitization only 58% of the time, so this is not a clinical test.
Key findings
01In 30 participants with acute low back pain, quantitative sensory testing identified two groups: 22 pain-sensitized and 8 nonsensitized participants.
02Four plasma lipids differed between the clusters: TAG 50:2 was higher in the pain-sensitized cluster, while PG 34:2, plasmenyl-PC 38:1, and PA 28:1 were higher in the nonsensitized cluster.
03The four lipids predicted cluster classification 58% of the time.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This was an exploratory analysis of 30 participants. The paper describes 30 participants but reports 21 female and eight male participants. All participants had acute low back pain at plasma collection, and there was no healthy no-pain control group, so lipid levels cannot be compared with people without pain. The four lipids predicted cluster classification 58% of the time.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these lipid levels as a diagnostic test or as proof that lipids cause pain sensitization. The four lipids predicted cluster classification only 58% of the time, the study included 30 participants, and it had no healthy no-pain control group.