Effects of therapeutically induced affect arousal on depressive symptoms, pain and beta-endorphins among rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The relationship among therapeutically induced affective arousal, depressive symptoms, pain and beta-endorphin levels were explored on 6 patients with chronic, active rheumatoid arthritis. An ABA, n of 1 study methodology was utilized, replicated 5 times. This procedure allowed the analysis of individualized changes across time in response to the therapeutic regimen. The results indicated that the treatment regimen activated the beta-endorphin system, particularly during the early and late phases of treatment. However, beta-endorphin response had little effect on reports of subjective pain. Depressive symptoms were affected positively by the treatment but were not strongly correlated to the beta-endorphin response. The results suggest that pain and depression represent independent systems and that beta-endorphin levels serve more as stress markers than analgesics in chronic, organic pain.