Pain Management Yearbook 2011

In this yearbook for 2011 we start out with a description of research from the University of Toronto in Canada on bone metastases. The next section also from the Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is about brain metastases, a frequent manifestation of advanced cancer devastating to the patient as typically patients do not survive more than a year upon diagnosis and the treatment itself often results in significant side effects that impact a patients quality of life. The next section is on neuroplasticity, which reflects the ability of human brain to alter the pattern of neural activation in response to previous experience, and recent findings indicate that the effects of experience can lead to both structural as well as functional reorganisation. If neuromodulatory approaches prove to be safe and effective, they could change the current view of best practice in pain management and assume a significant role in the clinic. This yearbook will present you with the latest research on pain management.