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Pain and Opioid Addiction: What is the Connection?

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Abstract

Addiction to opioid analgesics is an important and yet underinvestigated clinical issue, which has substantial implications in opioid therapy for chronic pain management. Problematic opioid use, including compulsive opioid seeking and addiction, arises in some fraction of opioid-treated chronic pain patients. The connection between chronic pain and opioid addiction is a complex interplay between psychological, epidemiological, and neurobiological factors. Herein, we explore this critical relationship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Adam J. Carinci & Jianren Mao

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  1. Adam J. Carinci
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  2. Jianren Mao
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Correspondence to Adam J. Carinci.

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Carinci, A.J., Mao, J. Pain and Opioid Addiction: What is the Connection?. Curr Pain Headache Rep 14, 17–21 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-009-0086-x

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