Clinical Research Directory

STABLE Pilates for Hypermobility

This study is looking at whether Pilates-based exercise can help with hypermobility-related symptoms, like pain.

Multicentre Longitudinal Study of Bone Mineralisation Characteristics in Marfan Syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

The general objective of this research is to evaluate the characteristics of bone mineralisation in patients with Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome on a large case series. In particular we intend to obtain data regarding the characteristics of bone mineralisation, as well as their variation over time and the relationships existing with other clinical-anamnestic parameters, in patients with Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome by retrospectively analysing (data already collected for normal clinical practice and already available at the hospital) the case history of the Cardiovascular genetic center at IRCCS Policlinico San Donato and the related Computerized Bone Mineralometry (MOC) examinations performed at the Radiology Service of the same hospital between 1 September 2019 and 31 December 2022.

Impact of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome on Gynaecological Health

Dysmenorrhea is a common problem in gynaecology, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is associated with joint hypermobility, tissue fragility and chronic pain. Some studies suggest an increased prevalence of gynaecological disorders, including dysmenorrhea, in patients with EDS. However, data remain limited and few studies have compared the intensity and characteristics of dysmenorrhea in women with EDS. There is also little data on the prevalence of other gynaecological conditions in women with EDS. This study therefore aims to compare the severity of dysmenorrhea in patients with EDS and a control group in order to better characterise the gynaecological impact of EDS. It will also compare the prevalence of other gynaecological conditions between women with EDS and women without EDS.

Two Point Discrimination

SPECIFIC AIMS Pain in both youth and adults is a complex, subjective and personal experience, and remains poorly understood. One particularly perplexing dimension of some forms of pain is the tendency of pain to spread outside of an affected body site to adjacent location, and then to unaffected body sites. Such widespread pain may reflect an altered spatial tuning of somatosensory processing, such that lateral inhibition is diminished, thereby allowing pain to spread. To date, no therapies exist which are designed specifically to diminish or even reverse the spatial spread of pain. However, training in two-point discrimination holds the potential to retune spatial aspects of somatosensory processing and may represent a novel therapy for widespread pain. Thus, the present investigation will test the following aims: Aim 1. Do youth with chronic pain have disrupted spatial tuning of somatosensory processing? Deficits in two point tactile discrimination have long been noted in adults with chronic pain, but such deficits remain poorly documented in pediatric chronic pain patients. In order to determine if such deficits exist, youth with both chronic pain and healthy youth will undergo assessment of two point discrimination thresholds. Aim 2. Does two-point discrimination training result in diminished pain and disability in youth with somatic pain? After initial characterization of tactile discrimination thresholds, youth with chronic pain will participate in multiple sessions of either two-point discrimination training or a single-point spatially-directed attentional control condition. Training will involve up to 9 additional sessions. Efficacy of training will be assessed by 1) reductions in the spatial extent of pain, 2) reductions in pain intensity and unpleasantness, and 3) reductions in pain-related disability.