Naples Pain Conference (NPC):
Research and Therapy for human and animal suffering
MAY 16th - 19th, 2010
"To discuss and present the latest developments in Pain Discovery and Therapeutics"
Venue: Centro Congressi dell'Ateneo Federico II, via Partenope 36 80131 - NAPOLI, IT
Under the auspices of:
WELCOME TO A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PAIN CONGRESS:
Naples Pain Conference (NPC): Research and Therapy for human and animal suffering
We are far from a full understanding of pain and analgesia. All of the human pain treatments are also in the domain of veterinary medicine, substantiating shared pain mechanisms by animals.
The quality and degree of suffering change with the stimulus, the individual, and with states of arousal and affect. These factors in turn alter pain control mechanisms.
In spite of million years of humankind experience, and the developments in medicine, significant progress with pain knowledge is quite recent. Significant developments from the 1960s include the synthesis of new analgesic molecules and the Gate Control theory of pain, the discovery of the opiate receptor system in the 1970s and the cyclooxygenase discovery in the 1980s. More recent discoveries include evidence of spinal plasticity, of windup mechanisms that can prolong or enhance pain, and the therapeutic value of preemptive and multimodal analgesia. In spite of this progress most pain medications also cause a number of unwanted side effects.
Pain is a huge scientific and social issue raising ethical and economical problems. The Aim of this Conference is to update and share the latest developments regarding Pain mechanisms and therapeutics among basic scientists, physicians, and veterinarians.
On behalf of the scientific and organizing committees, I am honoured to invite you to join the Naples Pain Conference (NPC): Research and Therapy for human and animal suffering.
Giancarlo Vesce
Conference president
