Top Minds in Chronic Pain Gather at Napa Pain Conference

NAPA, Calif., Aug. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's top scientists, physicians, policy-makers and researchers in the field of pain gathered to attend the 26^th Annual Napa Pain Conference (NPC) this past week. NPC is the oldest pain conference in the West.

"Patients continue to suffer chronic pain by the hundreds of thousands in the United States. Our goal with the Napa Pain Conference is to get innovation into practice as quickly as possible," said CEO and Founder of Neurovations, Dr. Eric Grigsby.

Professor and Chair Emeritus of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, Sten Lindahl, spoke on the evolution of medicine and patient care. The Lindahl Lecture, created by Dr. Grigsby to honor his former mentor Dr. Lindahl, recognizes scientific achievement. Past recipients include Dr. Bruce Beutler, winner of the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2011, and Dr. Jennifer Doundna, co-inventor of the world-changing genetic technology: CRISPR.

This year's Lindahl Lecture recipient, Professor Svante Pääbo, launched the meeting with a keynote on the evolution of the nervous system. Professor Pääbo is the Director of the Genetics Department at the Max Planck Institute for Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Professor Pääbo, the world's leading paleo-anthropologist, has identified the entire genome of Neanderthals by analyzing DNA extracted from ancient sources.

Dr. Howard Fields presented the Legacy Lecture, an honor bestowed on those recognized as founders and leaders in the field of pain medicine. Dr. Fields founded the UCSF Pain Management Center and made major contributions to the understanding and treatment of neuropathic pain, and the understanding of mechanisms of pain modulation and the placebo effect.

"It was a privilege to give this legacy talk to a highly motivated group of healthcare professionals. The setting was marvelous and the program was highly informative, I enjoyed every minute of it," said Fields.

Neurovations, parent company to NPC, is a national leader in medical device and pharmaceutical innovation, clinical research, pain and neuroscience education, and community health through the non-profit foundation, HealthRoots. 

"At the time I started the Napa Pain Conference in 1990, pain management was an unknown. We had no formal specialty; there was no fellowship program and no certification, only a dedicated few who recognized that chronic pain was a silent epidemic. There was a desperate need to provide teaching, training, and care for patients suffering with little or no hope for relief," said Grigsby.

This October, Neurovations will continue to strive for excellence and innovation in pain management by presenting Neuromodulation: The Science and NYC Neuromodulation, a joint conference to host leaders in neuroscience focusing on the scientific discoveries that are transforming neuromodulation technologies. The conference will address cutting-edge science and technology for patient care including treatment of pain, disease neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Media Contact: Krista Clark  
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SOURCE Neurovations