Cureus
Karin N. Westlund
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About

Dr. Westlund High is Vice-Chair for Research and chief scientist in the Pain Research Laboratory in the Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine Department at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Her work focuses on the causal mechanisms underlying chronic pain, and testing of potential non-opiate treatments. She studies neuronal changes in chronic pain, including the generation of stress proteins in chronic pain animal models posing risk for nervous system receptor changes and accompanying serum cytokines/chemokines. She and her colleagues have published evidence of diminished inflammation and pain with several non-opioid treatments, as well as described the visceral pain pathway in the spinal cord dorsal column midline. The characterization of the dorsal column visceral pain pathway explained why punctate midline spinal cord lesions performed by neurosurgeons were providing effective relief for terminal cancer patients with intractable pain; an approach now used worldwide. Dr. Westlund High's lab has an extensive history of research support funding from a variety of sources, and a productive, highly cited publication history.

Reviewer Keywords
chronic pain visceral pain neuropathic pain neuropathic low back pain facial pain pancreatitis neuroanatomy behavioral science
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Publications (1)

Recent article categories: Neurosurgery, Pain Management, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

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