Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39909549›Full record

ReviewRegional anesthesia and pain medicine2025

Innovations in acute and chronic pain biomarkers: enhancing diagnosis and personalized therapy.

Sean Mackey, Nima Aghaeepour, Brice Gaudilliere, Ming-Chih Kao, Merve Kaptan, Edward Lannon, Dario Pfyffer, Kenneth Weber

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Regional anesthesia and pain medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Dopamine transporter gene (Pain reports · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Personalizing treatment of pancreatitis-associated chronic pain: the need for an integrated omics approach.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2026
    Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Sean MackeyDivision of Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA smackey@stanford.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-7744-5348
Nima AghaeepourAnesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
Brice GaudilliereAnesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
Ming-Chih KaoDivision of Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Merve KaptanDivision of Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Edward LannonDivision of Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Dario PfyfferDivision of Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Kenneth WeberDivision of Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.

Funding

Prognostic biomarkers for high-impact chronic pain: Development and validationR61NS118651 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI MACKEY, SEAN C · 2020 to 2020
$7.3M
Interdisciplinary Research Training in Pain and Substance Use DisordersT32DA035165 · NIDA · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI SEAN C MACKEY · 2013 to 2026
$7.2M
MRI-Derived Neuromuscular Signatures to Predict Surgical Response in Degenerative Cervical MyelopathyR01NS128478 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Kenneth Arnold Weber · 2023 to 2026
$2.2M
Machine Learning for Integrative Modeling of the Immune System in Clinical SettingsR35GM138353 · NIGMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI AGHAEEPOUR, NIMA · 2020 to 2024
$2.2M
Neuroimaging-Based Brain and Spinal Cord Biomarkers for Cervical RadiculopathyK23NS104211 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI WEBER, KENNETH ARNOLD · 2018 to 2022
$875k
Mentoring in Discovery and Validation of Clinical Chronic Pain BiomarkersK24NS126781 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI MACKEY, SEAN C · 2021 to 2021
$324k
NIDA NIH HHS T32 DA035165NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM138353NINDS NIH HHS K23 NS104211NINDS NIH HHS K24 NS126781NINDS NIH HHS L30 NS108301NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS128478NINDS NIH HHS R61 NS118651
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pain affects millions worldwide, posing significant challenges in diagnosis and treatment. Despite advances in understanding pain mechanisms, there remains a critical need for validated biomarkers to enhance diagnosis, prognostication, and personalized therapy. This review synthesizes recent advancements in identifying and validating acute and chronic pain biomarkers, including imaging, molecular, sensory, and neurophysiological approaches. We emphasize the emergence of composite, multimodal strategies that integrate psychosocial factors to improve the precision and applicability of biomarkers in chronic pain management. Neuroimaging techniques like MRI and positron emission tomography provide insights into structural and functional abnormalities related to pain, while electrophysiological methods like electroencepholography and magnetoencepholography assess dysfunctional processing in the pain neuroaxis. Molecular biomarkers, including cytokines, proteomics, and metabolites, offer diagnostic and prognostic potential, though extensive validation is needed. Integrating these biomarkers with psychosocial factors into clinical practice can revolutionize pain management by enabling personalized treatment strategies, improving patient outcomes, and potentially reducing healthcare costs. Future directions include the development of composite biomarker signatures, advances in artificial intelligence, and biomarker signature integration into clinical decision support systems. Rigorous validation and standardization efforts are also necessary to ensure these biomarkers are clinically useful. Large-scale collaborative research will be vital to driving progress in this field and implementing these biomarkers in clinical practice. This comprehensive review highlights the potential of biomarkers to transform acute and chronic pain management, offering hope for improved diagnosis, treatment personalization, and patient outcomes.

Indexed as

Acute PainChronic PainInventionsPain ManagementPain MeasurementPrecision MedicineBiomarkersHumansBiomarkersAcute PainCHRONIC PAINMultimodal ImagingPain MeasurementTECHNOLOGY

Identifiers

PMID39909549
PMCPMC11877092

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.