Full paper: https://t.co/RPii92gVP7

Some inflammation markers seem more tied to physical pain, while others are linked to fear and emotional distress. This helps researchers better understand chronic pain and may guide future treatments.

Why this matters: The study suggests that inflammation may play a role in both how much pain teens feel and how pain affects their mood and behavior.

•Another marker, IL-1β, was linked to feeling more depressed, more worried about pain, and more fear of movement. •These inflammation markers did not fully explain why depression leads to trouble with daily activities, but they were still closely related.

What they found: •Teens with chronic pain had higher levels of one inflammation marker called IL-6. •Higher levels of IL-6 were linked to more pain, more stress, and more trouble with daily activities.

Researchers studied teens with chronic pain and teens without pain. They measured substances in the blood called cytokines, which are part of the body’s inflammation response. They also asked teens about pain, mood, stress, and how much pain affected daily life.

Many teens with chronic pain also feel depressed or stressed. This study looked at whether inflammation in the body might help explain why.

A new Ehlers-Danlos diagnosis kept Lizzie Perez off the stage, forcing her to trade dance shoes for medical appointments. At Stanford, a coordinated pediatric pain program helped her learn how to move safely and rebuild her routines. Read her story:

Full paper:

Takeaway: Instead of just counting who has pain, doctors should focus on women whose pain affects daily life and target care to prevent long-term problems. Standardized tools to measure pain and functional recovery are needed. Authors: @ruthi_landau, @PervezSultanMD

What they found: Most women don’t have long-term pain, but about 10% experience pain that interferes with daily activities. Pain tends to be highest 3–6 months after delivery and usually decreases over time.

What they did: Researchers reviewed decades of studies on chronic postsurgical pain after C-sections. They compared definitions, measurement tools, and reported rates of pain and its impact on daily life.

Chronic pain after a C-section isn’t common, but when it happens, it can affect daily life, work, and mental health. Understanding who is at risk and how pain interferes with life is key to helping new mothers recover fully.

How to Find a Physician You Can Trust •Ask people you know. Your regular doctor, friends, or coworkers can often point you toward providers who are skilled, reliable, and communicate well. First-hand experiences are usually more trustworthy than online reviews alone. •Look

Watch the video to hear Mare’s reflection on anesthesia dreams in her own words. Pictured from left to right: Zane, Mare, and the family’s corgi.

Remembering the dream has reshaped how Mare thinks about surgery and recovery: “Instead of being afraid,” she says, “I think of anesthesia as a place where something good can happen — where healing can begin.”

In Mare’s case, the experience helped quiet trauma symptoms she’d struggled with for years.

Her anesthesiologist, Dr. Harrison Chow, has been studying these “anesthesia dreams.” By carefully adjusting propofol and monitoring brain waves, Chow noticed that some patients reach a state where they have unusually vivid and positive dreams.

She’d carried years of PTSD after his death by suicide and had relentless nightmares, which ended after the dream-fueled surgery. That sense of renewal also led her to become a vocal advocate for youth mental health.

For Mare, it wasn’t just a dream but a moment of healing, a way to resolve the regret of not being able to give Zane the dog he always wanted.