• Jiri Sliva, Tomas Dolezal, Michaela Prochazkova, Martin Votava, and Miloslav Krsiak.
• Department of Pharmacology, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. slivaj@seznam.cz
• Neuroendocrinol Lett. 2008 Dec 1; 29 (6): 953-7.

ObjectivesPreemptive versus therapeutic effects of levetiracetam were investigated in a model of postoperative incisional pain in rats.MethodsLevetiracetam (250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg intraperitoneal (i.p.) or morphine (5 mg/kg i.p.) was administered either 1 h before (preemptive administration) or 1 h after (therapeutic administration) incisional surgery to the hind paw of rats. The effects of levetiracetam were evaluated based on thermal hyperalgesia measured by the plantar test.ResultsAll preoperatively treated levetiracetam groups showed a significant, dose dependent, increase in paw withdrawal latency. However, post-incisional administration of levetiracetam produced no antihyperalgesic effect at any dose or at any time. In contrast, post-incisional administration of morphine reduced thermal hyperalgesia, while preemptive administration of morphine did not produce any significant antihyperalgesic effects.ConclusionThe present results suggest that levetiracetam might possess preemptive analgesic activity.

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