• Neuroscience · Jan 2005

    Mechanical and heat sensitization of cutaneous nociceptors in rats with experimental peripheral neuropathy.

    • B Shim, D-W Kim, B H Kim, T S Nam, J W Leem, and J M Chung.
    • Brain Research Institute, Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, and Department of Physiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, C.P.O. Box 8044, 120-752, Seoul, South Korea.
    • Neuroscience. 2005 Jan 1;132(1):193-201.

    AbstractThis study examined whether or not the properties of cutaneous nociceptive fibers are altered in the neuropathic state by comparing lumbars 5 and 6 spinal nerve ligation (SNL) rats with sham-operated controls. The rats with the unilateral SNL developed mechanical allodynia in the ipsilateral hind limb, whereas the sham group did not. Two to 5 weeks after the neuropathic or sham surgery, rats were subjected to single fiber-recording experiments to examine the properties of afferent fibers in the sural and plantar nerves. A total of 224 afferents in the C- and Adelta-ranges were characterized in the neuropathic and sham groups. Spontaneous activity was observed in 16 of 155 fibers in the neuropathic group and one of 69 fibers in the sham group. The response threshold of both the C- and Adelta-fibers to mechanical stimuli was lower in the neuropathic group than the sham group. The afferent fibers responsive to heat stimuli were all C-fibers, and none were Adelta-fibers. The response threshold of the C-fibers to the heat stimuli was lower in the neuropathic group than the sham group. The magnitude of the responses of both C- and Adelta-fibers to the suprathreshold intensity of the mechanical stimulus was greater in the neuropathic group than the sham group. However, the magnitude of the responses of C-fibers to the suprathreshold intensity of the heat stimulus in the neuropathic group was not different from that in the sham group. These results suggest that after a partial peripheral nerve injury, the nociceptors on the skin supplied by an uninjured nerve become sensitized to both mechanical and heat stimuli. This nociceptor sensitization can contribute to neuropathic pain.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…

Want more great medical articles?

Keep up to date with a free trial of metajournal, personalized for your practice.
1,694,794 articles already indexed!

We guarantee your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.