Pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Cerebral analgesic response to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen.
Nonopioid agents, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are the most commonly used class of analgesics. Increasing evidence suggests that cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition at both peripheral and central sites can contribute to the antihyperalgesic effects of NSAIDs, with the predominant clinical effect being mediated centrally. In this study, we examined the cerebral response to ibuprofen in presurgical and postsurgical states and looked at the analgesic interaction between surgical state and treatment. ⋯ However, in the postsurgical state, we observed increased activation of top-down modulatory circuits, which was accompanied by decreases in the areas engaged because of ongoing pain. Our findings demonstrate that ibuprofen has a measurable analgesic response in the human brain, with the subjective effects of pain relief reflected in two distinct brain networks. The observed activation of descending modulatory circuits warrants further investigation, as this may provide new insights into the inhibitory mechanisms of analgesia that might be exploited to improve safety and efficacy in pain management.
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Accumulating evidence suggests that opioid analgesics can lead to paradoxical sensitization to pain when delivered in different administration patterns. Although opioid tolerance-induced hyperalgesia is largely studied, little is known about the mechanisms underlying acute ultra-low-dose morphine hyperalgesia. Activation of spinal glial cells is reported to regulate pain hypersensitivity. ⋯ Immunofluorescence experiments indicated the neuronal localization of spinal MOR. However, JNK was not detected in MOR-expressing cells, showing the presence of a neuron-astrocyte signaling pathway. These results illustrate the selective activation of an astrocyte JNK pathway after the stimulation of neuronal MOR, which contributes to ultra-low-dose morphine hyperalgesia.
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This study considered the attentional functioning of adolescents with varying levels of pain catastrophizing. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between pain catastrophizing and attention bias to pain facial expressions. Furthermore, drawing on dual process models in the context of pain, we investigated the moderating role of attention control on this relationship. ⋯ In addition, we found that poorer attention control was related to increased attention bias for pain faces (regardless of pain catastrophizing level) when these faces were presented for relatively longer durations (ie, 1250 milliseconds) but not for short durations (ie, 100 milliseconds). This study supports a dual process model of attentional processes in pain, thus replicating previous findings within the psychopathology literature but extending them to the study of pain. Theoretical and clinical implications of our findings are discussed.
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Pathological pain is one of the most common neurological complications in patients with HIV-1/AIDS. However, the pathogenic process is unclear. Our recent studies show that Wnt5a is upregulated in the spinal cord dorsal horn (SDH) of the patients with HIV who develop pain and that HIV-1 gp120, a potential causal factor of the HIV-associated pain, rapidly upregulates Wnt5a in the mouse SDH. ⋯ Furthermore, while Foxy5 potentiated spike frequency of SDH neurons, either SP600125 or Enbrel blocked the potentiation. The data indicate that Wnt5a potentiates the activity of SDH neurons through the JNK-TNF-α pathway. Collectively, our findings suggest that Wnt5a regulates the pathogenesis of gp120-induced pain, likely by sensitizing pain-processing SDH neurons through JNK/TNF-α signaling.
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Targeting proteins within the N-type voltage-gated calcium channel (CaV2.2) complex has proven to be an effective strategy for developing novel pain therapeutics. We describe a novel peptide aptamer derived from the collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2), a CaV2.2-regulatory protein. Addition of a 14-carbon myristate group to the peptide (myr-tat-CBD3) tethered it to the membrane of primary sensory neurons near surface CaV2.2. ⋯ Myr-tat-CBD3 was effective in significantly attenuating carrageenan-induced thermal hypersensitivity and reversing thermal hypersensitivity induced by a surgical incision of the plantar surface of the rat hind paw, a model of postoperative pain. These effects are compared with those of tat-CBD3-the nonmyristoylated tat-conjugated CRMP2 peptide as well as scrambled versions of CBD3 and CBD3-lacking control peptides. Our results demonstrate that the myristoyl tag enhances intracellular delivery and local concentration of the CRMP2 peptide aptamer near membrane-delimited calcium channels resulting in pronounced interference with the calcium channel complex, superior suppression of calcium influx, and better antinociceptive potential.