Allostatic load and pain: instability of a bio-social ecosystem.

Abstract

Allostatic load may contribute to the emergence of pain (through diminished resilience) or maintenance of chronic pain. Approaches that can diminish AL through interactions on multiple systems diminish cross sensitization across brain circuits and endocrine-stress systems. The glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists are a useful example of how one chemical entity can have a multitude of effects across disease states and biological systems that may essentially be an anti-AL antidote or make these systems more resilient to change.