• Kyoung-Hee Han, Sung-Hoon Kim, In Cheol Jeong, Young-Hee Lee, Sei-Jin Chang, Bit-Na-Ri Park, and Seok Won Kim.
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
• J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2012 Jul 1; 52 (1): 32-6.

ObjectiveAlcoholic neuropathy is characterized by allodynia (a discomfort evoked by normally innocuous stimuli), hyperalgesia (an exaggerated pain in response to painful stimuli) and spontaneous burning pain. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of rolipram, a phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor, against alcohol-induced neuropathy in rats.MethodsAllodynia was induced by administering 35% v/v ethanol (10 g/kg; oral gavage) to Spraue-Dawley rats for 8 weeks. Rolipram and saline (vehicle) were administered intraperitoneally. Mechanical allodynia was measured by using von Frey filaments. Somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) was proposed as complementary measure to assess the integrity of nerve pathway.ResultsThe ethanol-induced mechanical allodynia began to manifest from 3 week, and then peaked within 1 week. Beginning from 3 week, latency significantly started to increased in control group. In rolipram treated rats, the shorter latency was sustained until 8 weeks (p<0.05). The mechanical allodynia, which began to manifest on the 3 weeks, intraperitoneal injections of rolipram sustained statistical difference until 8 weeks, the final week of the study (p<0.05).ConclusionThis study suggests that rolipram might alleviate mechanical allodynia induced by alcohol in rats, which clearly has clinical implication.

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