Neil O’Connell

We've got ISSUES. Literally.

We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?

arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563

A 🧵 1/n

Global Year 2026

The 2026 IASP Global Year will focus on neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain affects millions worldwide and can cause serious disability and reduced quality of life. IASP’s 2026 Global Year explores its challenges and best practices in diagnosis and treatment. #GlobalYear2026 bit.ly/49eE3Y1

Image with Cochrane logo and text stating no clear evidence that cannabis-based medicines relieve chronic nerve pain. Below, a person in a white blouse, holding a brown pill bottle, stands beside green plants.

There is no clear evidence that cannabis-based medicines provide pain relief for chronic neuropathic pain, an updated Cochrane review finds.

Read more here: www.cochrane.org/about-us/new...

AMSTAR-PF: a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews of prognostic factor studies The ability to predict the onset or natural history of an illness, or how people may respond to a treatment, guides clinical decision making. These predictions are commonly based on prognostic factors...

** NEW PAPER in BMJ **

"AMSTAR-PF: a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews of prognostic factor studies"

Allows the quality of prognostic factor reviews to be examined.

Brilliantly led by Michael L Henry.

www.bmj.com/content/391/...

@campbellreviews.bsky.social @iasp-mesisig.bsky.social

Did you ask Santa for a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews of prognostic factor studies? The new AMSTAR-PF tool is now published in @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/391/...
Excellent work from Michael Henry @UNISA driving this project.
@cochranesmg.bsky.social @jbiebhc.bsky.social

Efficacy and Safety of Bisphosphonates for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol 0, No 0 Background: Clinical guidelines recommend bisphosphonates for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) despite limited evidence of efficacy. Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety of bisphosphonat...

Out today in @annalsofim.bsky.social

doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...

Our systematic review of 11 RCTs found bisphosphonates may reduce short-term pain but increase risk for AEs. Results limited by substantial, unexplained heterogeneity, introduced by inclusion of terminated trial data.

Noteworthy that of the 2 institutional representatives, one thought there weren’t enough cases for an independent agency, other worried they’d be overwhelmed

Advances in pain research in 2025 illuminate the complexities of neuropathic pain Neuropathic pain affects about 9% of adults and is driven by a variety of conditions, most notably diabetic neuropathy.1 The bio-psycho-social burden of neuropathic pain is key to recognising chronic ...

Nice summary of advances in pain research in 2025 just out in Lancet Neurology: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Great to see ENTRUST-PE get a solid nod! entrust-pe.org

As an accompaniment to this new perspective piece on measuring harms in pain research, the recording of our webinar "Assessing harms in pain research" is now available.
@iasp.bsky.social @iasp-mesisig.bsky.social @efic.bsky.social @britishpainsoc.bsky.social

perc.iasp-pain.org/methodology-...

Our recent and excellent @iasp-mesisig.bsky.social webinar "Optimising Openness and Transparency in Pain Research" is now free to view here perc.iasp-pain.org/methodology-...

Amputation for complex regional pain syndrome: a systematic review Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a disabling pain condition, usually confined to a single limb. Amputation of the affected limb is sometimes p…

New systematic review focused on amputation for complex regional pain syndrome and briliantly led by @yannickgilanyi.bsky.social from UNSW and Neura

sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
HT @iasp.bsky.social @iasp-mesisig.bsky.social @britishpainsoc.bsky.social @efic.bsky.social @usasp.bsky.social

🚨 BPS Endorses the ENTRUST-PE Framework

The British Pain Society is proud to endorse ENTRUST-PE – a framework boosting the trustworthiness, transparency, and rigor of pain research.

🔗Read more: m.entrust-pe.org

YouTube video by BBC Ideas What's the point of pain? | BBC Ideas

youtu.be/_zephafiitk?...

Great to see the OPTIMETH framework for optimising clinical trials in CRPS, brilliantly led by Keith Smart from @ucddublin.bsky.social now out in @painreports.bsky.social

journals.lww.com/painrpts/ful...

@britishpainsoc.bsky.social @efic.bsky.social @iasp.bsky.social @iasp-mesisig.bsky.social

MESISIG is now on BlueSky. We've migrated who we follow 9as far as possible) from X but do please follow us back. We promise all things methodology and pain research!

Registration and reporting will become mandatory for all clinical trials next year. It's good to see many trial sponsors already delivering on this, but with clear @hralatest.bsky.social guidance, no excuse for anyone not to be transparent about results #AllTrials

www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and...

To do no harm, we must first “know harms”. The challenge of ... : PAIN An abstract is unavailable.

To do no harm, we must first “know harms”
Our new perspective piece on the
challenge of measuring and reporting adverse
events in interventions for pain is now available in @painthejournal.bsky.social dx.doi.org/10.1097/j.pa...
@iasp.bsky.social @efic.bsky.social @britishpainsoc.bsky.social

INSPECT-SR: a tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled trials The integrity of evidence synthesis is threatened by problematic randomised controlled trials (RCTs). These are RCTs where there are serious concerns about the trustworthiness of the data or findings....

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

INSPECT-SR: A tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled trials.

To do no harm, we must first “know harms”. The challenge of ... : PAIN An abstract is unavailable.

To do no harm, we must first “know harms”
Our new perspective piece on the
challenge of measuring and reporting adverse
events in interventions for pain is now available in @painthejournal.bsky.social dx.doi.org/10.1097/j.pa...
@iasp.bsky.social @efic.bsky.social @britishpainsoc.bsky.social

PCI Webinar Series - Peer Community In The PCI webinar series is a series of seminars on research practices, publication practices, evaluation, scientific integrity, meta-research, organised by Peer Community In

📣 Save the date for the 12th PCI webinar on September 18, 2025, at 4 PM CET!! Dorothy Bishop (@deevybee.bsky.social) will present "Editors matter: How negligent publishers subvert quality control in scientific publishing ". For more details and registration, visit:

@efic.bsky.social @britishpainsoc.bsky.social @auspainsoc.bsky.social

Ketamine and other NMDA receptor antagonists for chronic pain - Ferraro, MC - 2025 | Cochrane Library Select your preferred language for Cochrane reviews and other content. Sections without translation will be in English.

Out today 🚨 Our Cochrane review of 67 RCTs finds no clear evidence of benefit for ketamine or other NMDA antagonists for chronic pain. IV ketamine associated with risk of psychotomimetic effects, nausea, and vomiting. doi.org/10.1002/1465...

The ENTRUST-Pain Evidence (Entrust-PE) is an important initiative to ensure that pain science is of high quality.
Framework published in J Pain.
Endorsed by @iasp.bsky.social & @efic.bsky.social.

More here: m.entrust-pe.org

#pain

Editorial: The editors-in-chief from @thejournalofpain.bsky.social & other pain/anesthesia journals come together to align and strengthen initiatives to enhance research integrity, trust, and impact across our field.

Full: www.jpain.org/article/S152...

ENTRUST-PE: A New Framework for Trustworthy Pain Research - ERA-NET NEURON NEURON’s Role and Reflections from the First Networking Call The success of ENTRUST-PE also reflects the value of ERA-Net NEURON’s strategic focus on networking and community building. The Networking ...

Led by Prof. Neil O’Connell and funded by ERA-Net NEURON, ENTRUST-PE brought together an international network to co-create a new framework for trustworthy pain research.
Learn more: entrust-pe.org

#ENTRUSTPE #ChronicPain #ResearchIntegrity #EquityInResearch #PainResearch #NEURON #SuccessStory #RRI

Figure. SPIRIT 2025 Diagram of the Schedule of Enrollment, Interventions, and Assessments

📌 The SPIRIT 2025 statement updates the guidelines for randomized trial protocols to enhance their completeness, transparency, and consistency, benefiting stakeholders involved in clinical research.

ja.ma/4fzMVZS

YouTube video by Hidden REF Ep3. What the REF are our research incentives?

Excellent, insightful conversation on the What the REF podcast between @simonhettrick.bsky.social and Marcus Munafo (@ukrepro.bsky.social) covering REF, open and transparent research and research culture (also rowing) youtu.be/uHRQjNqY6CY

EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: Group-Based Task-Oriented Exercises Aimed at Managing Kinesiophobia Improved Disability in Chronic Low Back Pain - PubMed EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: Group-Based Task-Oriented Exercises Aimed at Managing Kinesiophobia Improved Disability in Chronic Low Back Pain

An expression of concern for an RCT 2 years after we raised concerns around the trustworthiness of the data. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40709807/ this trial influences guidelines www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...