Anesthesiology
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To gain a better understanding of spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced central neuropathic pain, the authors investigated changes in properties of spinal dorsal horn neurons located rostrally and caudally to the lesion and their sensitivity to morphine in rats after SCI. ⋯ The findings suggest that changes in properties of spinal dorsal horn neurons after SCI are caused by different mechanisms, depending on the classification of the neurons and their segmental locations.
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Cancer-induced bone pain is a major clinical problem for which current treatments lack full efficacy. Gabapentin is licensed for use in neuropathic pain yet is also effective against inflammatory stimuli in animals. ⋯ Pain-related behavior in this rat model of cancer-induced bone pain is strongly linked to hyperexcitability of a population of superficial dorsal horn neurones. Gabapentin normalizes the cancer-induced bone pain induced dorsal horn neuronal changes and attenuates pain behavior. It may therefore provide a novel clinical treatment for cancer-induced bone pain.