Pelvic Pain Research
The Patient Podcast
Podcast for the European Society of Radiology about Patient Involvement in Research. Featuring the Chair of the Research Committee: Raquel Perez-Lopez and Judy Birch: Pelvic Pain Support Network:
Prof Linda McGowan
Prof Linda McGowan talks about research in persistent pelvic pain in general practice to improve the management of those with pelvic pain.
Further Reading
- 1st World Congress on Pelvic Pain, Amsterdam 2013. Research Gaps and Priorities final report
- Endometriosis: Improving the wellbeing of couples. Report and recommendations 2013REPORT OF A WORKSHOP: PATIENT AND PROFESSIONAL
- REPORT OF A WORKSHOP: PATIENT AND PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES OF CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN:- 2nd World Congress on Abdominal and Pelvic Pain, Nice 2015 (Revised 2016)
November 2016: The following trial is currently recruiting at several sites in the UK. Please see information about the trial below.
The GaPP2 trial
The GaPP2 trial is testing gabapentin in women with chronic pelvic pain. The GaPP2 researchers want to find out if gabapentin reduces chronic pelvic pain, if there are any side effects of the medicine and how it works.
Gabapentin is a drug that was developed to treat epilepsy, and is currently used to relieve neuropathic pain.
GaPP2 is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial:
- Randomised:The women who take part will be given either the treatment medicine (gabapentin) or a placebo – a dummy drug that has no active ingredients. A computer makes the selection so it’s completely random.
- Double-blind:The women in the trial won’t be told whether they are taking the active medicine (gabapentin) or the placebo – and neither will their doctors. So both are “blinded” to this information.
- Placebo-controlled:Half of the women in the study will have the active medicine and half the placebo (they are called the control group). The medication that women receive will look exactly the same to them and their doctors, but a completely separate study group will keep a record of which women have gabapentin and which have the placebo.
What the trial involves
We are collecting information on pain, and physical and emotional wellbeing at the beginning of the study and after 12 weeks of treatment by use of questionnaires. Additionally, we are asking a subset of 50 women (recruited in Edinburgh) to have a scan to look at brain activity before and during treatment. We will analyse the brain scan findings to further understand how gabapentin works in women with chronic pelvic pain and possibly also other pain conditions.
For more information about the trial, please visit the GaPP2 trial website.
Results of the trial
The results of the GaPP2 trial are published in “The Lancet” 24th September 2020:
Newly launched EU research initiative for chronic pain, Endometriosis and Bladder Pain:
Two articles published in New Scientist Managing Pain Supplement:
PAIN Research Paper:
If you have any questions that are not medical or scientific and more about feelings or concerns about the trial, do contact us at: info@pelvicpain.org.uk