Kevin M Hellman

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify menstrual pain trajectories over 2 years in young women with moderate-to-severe intensity, and determine baseline factors, including modifiable variables, that differentiate these trajectories. METH…

BackgroundDyspareunia, defined as pain before, during or after intercourse, is a subset of female sexual dysfunction with overlapping gynecologic, urologic and psychosocial etiologies.AimThis study aimed to evaluate the impact of menstrual …

ObjectiveTo examine how eicosanoid levels in menstrual effluent of adolescents within 3 years of menarche relate to the severity of menstrual pain.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingCommunity teaching hospital.Population or sampleAdolesc…

Dysmenorrhea (period pain) affects over 40% of women and is a leading cause of missed school and workdays. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this pain are not fully understood. We conducted a systematic review (Prospero registrat…

aDepartment of Ob/Gyn, Endeavor Health, Evanston, IL, United States bDepartment of Ob/Gyn, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States

BackgroundThe mechanisms responsible for menstrual pain are poorly understood. However, dynamic, noninvasive pelvic imaging of menstrual pain sufferers could aid in identifying therapeutic targets and testing novel treatments.ObjectiveTo st…

AbstractMultimodal hypersensitivity (MMH)-greater sensitivity across multiple sensory modalities (eg, light, sound, temperature, pressure)-is associated with the development of chronic pain. However, previous MMH studies are restricted give…

Although elevated estradiol levels facilitate chronic pelvic pain in animal models, it remains to be determined whether sex steroid levels are altered in a cross-section of women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and those at-risk for developi…

AimPrior research has primarily focused on static pain assessment, largely ignoring the dynamic nature of pain over time. We used a novel assessment tool for characterizing pain duration, frequency, and amplitude in women with dysmenorrhea …

OBJECTIVE: Incomplete pain relief after administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is common, but it is unknown whether malabsorption or heightened metabolism contributes to NSAID resistance. To explain the etiology of …

Oxytocin-dependent mechanisms are hypothesized to contribute to painful menses, but clinical trials of oxytocin antagonists for dysmenorrhea have had divergent outcomes. In contrast, broader studies have shown that increased systemic oxytoc…

Menstrual pain, also known as dysmenorrhea, is a leading risk factor for bladder pain syndrome (BPS). A better understanding of the mechanisms that predispose dysmenorrheic women to BPS is needed to develop prophylactic strategies. Abnormal…

BackgroundDysmenorrhea is a pervasive pain condition that affects 20-50% of reproductive-aged women. Distension of a visceral organ, such as the uterus, could elicit a visceromotor reflex, resulting in involuntary skeletal muscle activity a…

BackgroundThe lack of noninvasive methods to study dysmenorrhea has resulted in poor understanding of the mechanisms underlying pain, insufficient diagnostic tests, and limited treatment options. To address this knowledge gap, we have devel…

INTRODUCTION: Prior research has suggested that changes in the MR signal occur in the myometrial layer in women with dysmenorrhea. Since the mechanisms of dysmenorrhea are poorly understood, characterization of the relationship between MR s…

BackgroundDysmenorrhea is a common risk factor for chronic pain conditions including bladder pain syndrome. Few studies have formally evaluated asymptomatic bladder pain sensitivity in dysmenorrhea, and whether this largely reflects excess …

Although nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs can alleviate menstrual pain, about 18% of women with dysmenorrhea are unresponsive, leaving them and their physicians to pursue less well-studied strategies. The goal of this review is to provid…

OBJECTIVE: To compare bladder sensitivity between patients with pelvic pain and patients who were pain free, undergoing noninvasive, controlled bladder distension via diuresis. We also sought to measure potential mechanisms underlying bladd…

ObjectiveWe sought to evaluate candidate mechanisms underlying the pelvic floor dysfunction in women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and/or painful bladder syndrome (PBS)/interstitial cystitis. Notably, prior studies have not consistently co…

ObjectiveCatheterization to measure bladder sensitivity is aversive and hinders human participation in visceral sensory research. Therefore, we sought to characterize the reliability of sonographically estimated female bladder sensory thres…

Obstetrician/gynecologists often are the initial management clinicians for pelvic neuropathic pain. Although treatment may require comprehensive team management and consultation with other specialists, there are a few critical and basic ste…