Articles: human.
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Neuropathic pain is believed to be influenced in part by inflammatory processes. In this study we examined the effect of variability in the C-type lectin gene cluster (Aplec) on the development of neuropathic pain-like behavior after ligation of the L5 spinal nerve in the inbred DA and the congenic Aplec strains, which carries seven C-type lectin genes originating from the PVG strain. ⋯ We here for the first time demonstrate that C-type lectins, a family of innate immune receptors with largely unknown functions in the nervous system, are involved in regulation of inflammation and development of neuropathic pain behavior after nerve injury. Further experimental and clinical studies are needed to dissect the underlying mechanisms more in detail as well as any possible relevance for human conditions.
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Evid Based Compl Alt · Jan 2014
Electroacupuncture reduces hyperalgesia after injections of acidic saline in rats.
Background. Injections of acidic saline into the gastrocnemius muscle in rats produce a bilateral long-lasting hyperalgesia similar to fibromyalgia in humans. No previous study investigated the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on this acidic saline model. ⋯ Moreover, mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia were significantly reversed by EA 15, 100 Hz, and acupuncture. Conclusions. The results suggest that EA high and low frequency as well as acupuncture are effective in reducing hyperalgesia in chronic muscle pain model.
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Samples of Jamaican plants used as bush teas were collected from households in high soil-cadmium (Cd) areas of central Jamaica and analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry for total cadmium and for cadmium extractable with a hot water brew as prepared for human consumption to determine their contribution to dietary cadmium exposure. The concentrations ranged from < 0.03 to 6.85 µg/g for total Cd, between 1 and 15% of which was extracted with a hot water brew. ⋯ This is significantly below the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of 7 µg Cd/kg body weight established by the World Health Organization (WHO). While this suggests that bush tea consumption does not contribute significantly to the PTWI, some of the teas examined exceed the WHO recommendation of less than 0.3 mg/kg Cd for medicinal plants.
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Experimental dermatology · Jan 2014
LetterActivation of primary sensory neurons by the topical application of capsaicin on the epidermis of a re-innervated organotypic human skin model.
Using an ex vivo skin-nerve preparation, skin and nerve cells were reconstituted into a single unit and maintained in a nutrient medium bath until required experimentally. Our objective was to use the epidermis as a relay for the induction of an electric current to the neurons following the topical application of capsaicin on the skin epidermis of the skin explant, an agonist of the TRPV1 channel implicated in pruritus and pain. ⋯ Following the topical application of capsaicin, spontaneous activity was triggered, as characterised by repetitive spikes with periods of 125, 225 or 275 ms. This study demonstrates that the skin explant and nerve cells preparation may receive stimuli and be used to screen molecules or to study signal transmission.