Articles: neuropathic-pain.
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The α2δ-ligands pregabalin (PGB) and gabapentin (GBP) are used to treat neuropathic pain. We used whole cell recording to study their long-term effects on substantia gelatinosa and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Spinal cord slices were prepared from embryonic day 13 rat embryos and maintained in organotypic culture for >5 wk (neuronal age equivalent to young adult rats). ⋯ In substantia gelatinosa, 5-6 days of exposure to PGB was more effective in inhibiting excitatory synaptic drive to putative excitatory neurons than to putative inhibitory neurons. Although spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents were also attenuated, the overall long-term effect of α2δ-ligands was to decrease network excitability as monitored by confocal Ca(2+) imaging. We suggest that selective actions of α2δ-ligands on populations of DRG neurons may predict their selective attenuation of excitatory transmission onto excitatory vs. inhibitory neurons in substantia gelatinosa.
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Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. · Nov 2014
Establishment and characterization of an optimized mouse model of multiple sclerosis-induced neuropathic pain using behavioral, pharmacologic, histologic and immunohistochemical methods.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that causes debilitating central neuropathic pain in many patients. Although mouse models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) have provided insight on the pathobiology of MS-induced neuropathic pain, concurrent severe motor impairments confound quantitative assessment of pain behaviors over the disease course. To address this issue, we have established and characterized an optimized EAE-mouse model of MS-induced neuropathic pain. ⋯ Single bolus doses of amitriptyline (1-7mg/kg), gabapentin (10-50mg/kg) and morphine (0.1-2mg/kg) evoked dose-dependent analgesia in the bilateral hindpaws of EAE-mice; the corresponding ED50s were 1.5, 20 and 1mg/kg respectively. At day 39 p.i. in EAE-mice exhibiting mechanical allodynia in the hindpaws, there was marked demyelination and gliosis in the brain and lumbar spinal cord, mirroring these pathobiologic hallmark features of MS in humans. Our optimized EAE-mouse model of MS-associated neuropathic pain will be invaluable for future investigation of the pathobiology of MS-induced neuropathic pain and for efficacy profiling of novel molecules as potential new analgesics for improved relief of this condition.
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The objective of this study was to define the validity, reliability, and assessment sensitivity of the Japanese version of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire 2 (SF-MPQ-2-J). ⋯ These findings suggest that the reliability and validity of the SF-MPQ-2-J are excellent, and the SF-MPQ-2-J represents a cross-cultural equivalent to SF-MPQ-2. Consequently, the latter is suitable for research and clinical use, and for discriminating neuropathic pain from non-neuropathic pain.
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To determine the incidence of neuropathic pain after cooled radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the sacral lateral branches for the treatment of chronic posterior sacroiliac joint complex pain. ⋯ The incidence of postprocedural neuropathic pain after cooled RFA for posterior sacroiliac joint complex denervation is low and in a similar range to that in the lumbar spine. We consider this procedure safe to be utilized by pain medicine practitioners.
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Understanding the molecular mechanisms associated with disease is a central goal of modern medical research. As such, many thousands of experiments have been published that detail individual molecular events that contribute to a disease. Here we use a semi-automated text mining approach to accurately and exhaustively curate the primary literature for chronic pain states. ⋯ We exploit the contextual data associated with our interactions to analyse subnetworks specific to inflammatory and neuropathic pain, and to various anatomical regions. Here, we identify potential targets for further study and several drug-repurposing opportunities. Finally, the network provides a framework for the interpretation of new data within the field of pain.