Acute and chronic pain are global health problems1 with high societal costs,2,3 both
in high- and low-income nations.4 As pain is best conceptualized through a multidisciplinary
approach, its study should also be multidisciplinary and biopsychosocially oriented,
including both basic science and clinical study/practice. Therefore, it was determined
that the Study in Multidisciplinary Pain Research (SIMPAR) was needed to succeed in
efforts to more effectively control pain.5
The SIMPAR concept was inaugurated 12 years ago, becoming that which we will celebrate
next year in the tenth edition: a consortium of scientists and clinicians allied in
their dedication to improve the treatment of pain. SIMPAR originated in Pavia, Italy,
where the Scientific Head of the research hospital Policlinico San Matteo, Professor
Carlo Alberto Redi, along with Professor Massimo Allegri, developed a pain research
center dedicated to linking basic and translational science to clinical practice.
In addition to holding a conference in Pavia, the initial conference also published
the proceedings of the meeting as a supplement to the European Journal of Pain.6
The first edition’s faculty discussed at great length and reached consensus that the
scientific community lacked a forum in which basic scientists, clinical pain researchers,
and frontline clinicians could thoroughly consider pain therapy from bench to bedside.
Accordingly, each session analyzed a specific topic through three or four lectures
divided into basic, translational, and clinical issues, allocating sufficient opportunity
for discussion and for the conclusions of the sessions’ chairpersons, who also provided
clinical pearls geared toward changing day-to-day practice based upon the combination
of the strongest empirical data as well as clinical observations. The organizing body
decided to run two parallel courses concomitantly, with one dedicated to acute pain
and the other focused on chronic pain, emphasizing the most current research findings
in order to maximize the benefit of applying them to clinical practice. This approach
was repeated in subsequent SIMPARs, with attendees universally voicing approval of
this format.
Therefore, SIMPAR has provided the impetus to conceptualize and ultimately conduct
numerous important translational clinical trials, some of which received substantial
European or national grants totaling millions of euros. Furthermore, new approaches
to basic research have developed as a result of SIMPAR, closing the loop from bench
to bedside and back to bench again. A SIMPAR community began to network together,
with members with varying interests and backgrounds joining to improve the overall
quality of research by broadening its scope. This new community has published more
than 60 peer-reviewed articles, including two sets of proceedings from SIMPAR workshops
on the role of lifestyle in pain management,7,8 that have been published over the
past 10 years.
SIMPAR has never strived to simply be merely another conference or society; rather,
its leadership has attempted to provide a forum for education and research emphasizing
the needs of those who understand that new and better solutions to pain management
can be achieved only through a multidisciplinary approach to both treatment and research.
SIMPAR became a multidirectional space in which to conceptualize new research questions
rather than merely another event focused on the unidirectional transfer of knowledge.
Attendance to SIMPAR has grown, necessitating moving the conference from Pavia to
Rome and finally to Florence in 2017. The most recent conference was held as a joint
meeting with the International Symposium of Ultrasound for Regional Anesthesia and
Pain Medicine (ISURA), resulting in an event attended by more than 1,000 scientists
and practitioners from 34 different countries. Even at this joint conference, the
philosophy remained consistent: from bench to bedside to create new clinical solutions
for patients suffering from acute or chronic pain.
During the past 10 years, over 100 speakers from throughout the world have enriched
this community. Attendees have discovered novel clinical and research frontiers to
explore, and by avoiding the repeat of previous years’ content, the conference has
continued to attract return attendees from previous years as well as attracting progressively
more new attendees interested in joining the community of enthusiastic clinicians,
biologists, geneticists, psychologists, physiotherapists, and patients who have desired
the opportunity to explore the paradigm(s) through which we can most effectively treat
pain.
Despite the current academic emphasis on chronic pain, SIMPAR has also provided an
opportunity for the evaluation of how acute pain may not only be managed but also
effectively treated through opioid-sparing anesthesia, fast track surgery programs,
and a better comprehension of all neurophysiological effects related to pain, such
as immunodepression, endocrinal changes, and unresolved psychological issues. SIMPAR
has come to encompass a community motivated to explore how acute pain can avoid becoming
chronic through a truly multidisciplinary approach in which basic sciences are providing
interesting new insights that, if confirmed, will alter our clinical practice patterns
for acute pain medicine.
Despite a degree of focus on acute pain, SIMPAR has also become a community that evaluates
optimal strategies for treating “the disease of chronic pain” through a multidisciplinary
approach that allows us to fully comprehend all of the diverse yet interrelated facets
of this global health problem, not only evaluating new techniques but additionally
considering new technologies as they become available. The ultimate goal is the development
and provision of personalized treatments that consider not only genetic and clinical
aspects of chronic pain but also additionally apply novel technologies that further
patients’, as well as clinicians’, comprehension regarding how to progress both the
“art” and the “science” of chronic pain management.
After 10 years as SIMPAR, this community has chosen to evolve into a consortium in
order to increase even further its scope of study and education, as well as to ultimately
include even more scientists and practitioners who experience unsatisfactorily addressed
research and practice challenges in pain management. SIMPAR has accordingly become
CIMPARC (Consortium of Multidisciplinary Pain Researchers and Clinicians - www.cimparc.com),
the initial edition of which will be held in northern Italy on the shores of majestic
Lake Maggiore from March 14th to 16th, 2019. In order to avoid the pitfalls of growing
too quickly, the first CIMPARC will be a 3-day workshop paradoxically open to only
200 attendees who believe that current paradigms for pain research and treatment can
continue to improve, and that “state of the art” needs to become the rule rather than
the exception in pain medicine. By keeping the initial CIMPARC small, we anticipate
considerable interaction with attendees, who will be queried regarding the extent
that the event meets their educational needs. Accordingly, the 2019 CIMPARC will serve
as a “beta” for future editions, as we consider attendee input to be invaluable.
We hope that this brief description of the history of SIM-PAR and its evolution into
CIMPARC piques your interest, and that you choose to join us for what will be a truly
amazing educational experience. We are confident that the size of the conference will
grow rapidly, as was the case with SIMPAR. Therefore, CIMPARC 2019 will offer attendees
an especially intimate opportunity to reap the benefits of what has been a uniquely
intimate learning experience.