Current Research Studies

Nutrition for Chronic Low Back Pain

Principal Investigator: Kevin Carneiro, MD
Project Manager: Kim Faurot
Funding: North American Spine Society (NASS), Mayday Fund

Lumbar radiculopathy is a syndrome of buttock/leg pain, weakness, and/or numbness/tingling caused by a pinched nerve in the back. Although some people recover quickly from this problem, others go on to have chronic debilitating pain. Preliminary evidence suggests that dietary changes may help patients with chronic pain, but their effectiveness has not been well studied.

The purpose of this research study is to learn whether dietary changes can improve symptoms and quality of life for chronic lumbar radiculopathy sufferers.

No longer recruiting subjects for this study

Nutrition for Migraine Prevention

Principal Investigator: J. Douglas Mann, MD
Project Manager: Kim Faurot
Funding: NIH/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Migraine is a widespread, debilitating, chronic pain disorder and a major public health challenge. Most conventional treatments fail to give satisfactory long-term relief and their repeated use can have serious side effects.

This project involves implementation of substantial dietary changes in adults with migraine. Our goal is to test the hypothesis that a causal relationship exists between migraine symptoms and the amount and proportions of foods consumed containing defined amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Significant findings supporting the hypothesis will lead to a major shift in both prevention and management of migraine and other chronic pain disorders. Emphasis is on low-cost, health improvement strategies utilizing specific dietary modifications for pain management, based on solid clinical research evidence.

No longer recruiting subjects for this study