Brain research
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Secondary ischemia (SI) following traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases damage to the brain in both animals and humans. The current study determined if SI after TBI alters the extent or duration of reduced energy production within the first 24 h post-injury and hippocampal cell loss at one week post-injury. Adult male rats were subjected to sham injury, lateral (LFPI) or central fluid percussion injury (CFPI) only, or to combined LFPI or CFPI with SI. ⋯ Cell counts in the CA1 region at 7 days post-injury revealed no significant neuronal cell loss after LFPI or CFPI alone. Significant neuronal cell loss was present only within the ipsilateral (p < 0.001) CA1 after LFPI+SI, but cell loss was bilateral (p < 0.001) after CFPI+SI. Thus, SI prolongs ATP reductions induced by LFPI and CFPI within the CA1 region and this SI-induced energy reduction appears to adversely affect regional neuronal viability.
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Artemin, a member of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family, supports a subpopulation of trigeminal sensory neurons through activation of the Ret/GFRalpha3 receptor tyrosine kinase complex. In a previous study we showed that artemin is increased in inflamed skin of wildtype mice and that transgenic overexpression of artemin in skin increases TRPV1 and TRPA1 expression in dorsal root ganglia neurons. In this study we examined how transgenic overexpression of artemin in tongue epithelium affects the anatomy, gene expression and calcium handling properties of trigeminal sensory afferents. ⋯ ART-OE afferents had larger calcium transients in response to ligands of TRPV1 (capsaicin) and TRPA1 (mustard oil). Behavioral sensitivity was also exhibited by ART-OE mice to capsaicin and mustard oil, measured using a two-choice drinking test. These results suggest a potential role for artemin-responsive GFRalpha3/TRPV1/TRPA1 sensory afferents in mediating sensitivity associated with tissue injury, chemical sensitivity or disease states such as burning mouth syndrome.
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Previous studies have demonstrated that pretreatment of rats with a GABA(A) receptor antagonist microinjected bilaterally into the preoptic area (POA) blocked cold- or lipopolysaccharide-induced thermogenesis. Here, the involvement of GABA(A) receptors in prostaglandin (PG)E2-induced fever was examined. Thermogenic, tachycardic, vasoconstrictive, and hyperthermic responses were elicited by the unilateral microinjection of 0.57-1.1 pmol PGE2 into the region adjacent to the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis in urethane-chloralose-anesthetized rats. ⋯ Pretreatment with the vehicle, saline, had no effect on the PGE2-induced responses. However, the blocking action of bicuculline/gabazine was efficacious when the agent was administered unilaterally, but not necessarily bilaterally, into the POA either contralateral or ipsilateral to the PGE2 injection site. These results suggest that the PGE2-induced responses are not simply mediated by the GABAergic transmission from the PGE2-sensitive site to the thermoefferent structure in the POA, although a tonic inhibitory input to POA neurons has a permissive role for the full expression of PGE2-induced fever.
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Migraine with aura occurs in up to 20-30% of all migraineurs. The regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes that occur during cortical spreading depression (CSD) are considered to be an experimental correlate of aura. CSD is synchronous with a failure in brain ion homeostasis and efflux of excitatory amino acids from nerve cells. ⋯ The sodium ion channel blocker was able to inhibit rCBF changes in both the cat and rats. Voltage-dependent calcium channel blockers had little effect on the initiation or propagation of the spread, as did the ATP-activated potassium channel blocker. The data are consistent with what is known of human aura in that sodium ion channels are those predominantly involved in mechanical stimulation-induced rCBF changes and thus may represent therapeutic targets for the aura response in migraine.
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Chemotherapy-induced pain is the most common treatment-limiting complication encountered by cancer patients receiving taxane-, vinca alkaloid- or platin-based chemotherapy. Several lines of evidence indicate that activation of pro-inflammatory cascades involving the release of cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as well as various growth factors are key events in the pathogenesis of many types of nerve-injury related pain. Similar mechanisms might also be involved in the etiology of chemotherapy-induced pain. ⋯ These compounds were evaluated here for effects in preventing the development of taxol-induced mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in rats. Thalidomide (50.0 mg/kg) reduced taxol-induced mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia whereas minocycline (20.0 mg/kg) reduced taxol-induced mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia as well as taxol-induced thermal hyperalgesia. These results suggest that immunomodulatory agents may provide a treatment option for the protection or reversal of chemotherapy-related pain.