Journal of Korean medical science
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2013
Attenuation of spinal cord injury-induced astroglial and microglial activation by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in rats.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes not only loss of sensory and motor function below the level of injury but also chronic pain, which is difficult and challenging of the treatment. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the motor cortex, of non-invasive therapeutic methods, has the motor and sensory consequences and modulates pain in SCI-patients. In the present study, we studied the effectiveness of rTMS and the relationship between the modulation of pain and the changes of neuroglial expression in the spinal cord using a rat SCI-induced pain model. ⋯ But in SCI rats treated with 25 Hz rTMS for 8 weeks, these expressions were significantly reduced by about 30%. Our finding suggests that this attenuation of activation by rTMS is related to pain modulation after SCI. Therefore, rTMS might provide an alternative means of attenuating neuropathic pain below the level of SCI.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2013
Intrathecal lamotrigine attenuates antinociceptive morphine tolerance and suppresses spinal glial cell activation in morphine-tolerant rats.
Glial cells play a critical role in morphine tolerance, resulting from repeated administration of morphine. Both the development and the expression of tolerance are suppressed by the analgesic lamotrigine. This study investigated the relationship between the ability of lamotrigine to maintain the antinociceptive effect of morphine during tolerance development and glial cell activation in the spinal cord. ⋯ When lamotrigine was coinjected with morphine on days 5-7, the morphine effect was partially restored. Glial cell activation increased with the development of morphine tolerance but was clearly inhibited in the presence of lamotrigine. These results suggest that, in association with the suppression of spinal glial cell activity, intrathecally coadministered lamotrigine attenuates antinociceptive tolerance to morphine.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2013
Intrathecal gabapentin increases interleukin-10 expression and inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine in a rat model of neuropathic pain.
We examined the possible anti-inflammatory mechanisms of gabapentin in the attenuation of neuropathic pain and the interaction between the anti-allodynic effects of gabapentin and interleukin-10 (IL-10) expression in a rat model of neuropathic pain. The anti-allodynic effect of intrathecal gabapentin was examined over a 7-day period. The anti-allodynic effects of IL-10 was measured, and the effects of anti-IL-10 antibody on the gabapentin were assessed. ⋯ The suppressive effect of gabapentin on pro-inflammatory cytokine expression was partially blocked by the anti-IL-10 antibody. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was significantly attenuated by daily injections of IL-10. The anti-allodynic effects of gabapentin may be caused by upregulation of IL-10 expression in the spinal cord, which leads to inhibition of the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the spinal cords.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Feb 2013
Predictive value of conjointly examined IL-1ra, TNF-R I, TNF-R II, and RANTES in patients with primary glomerulonephritis.
Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), tumor necrosis factor soluble receptors (sTNF-R) type I and II, and regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) play an important role in the modulation of primary glomerulonephritis (GN) course. The aim of the study was to assess whether pre-treatment measurements of IL-1ra, sTNF-R, and RANTES assessed conjointly may be useful as predicting factors in patients with GN. In 84 patients (45 males and 39 female) serum concentration (pg/mL) and urinary excretion (pg/mgCr) of cytokines were measured. ⋯ The urinary RANTES excretion was increased in NR (79.6 vs 28.5; P < 0.001). The multivariable analysis showed that if conjointly assessed, only urinary IL-1ra, TNF-R I and R II, RANTES with 85% probability pointed the feature remission (R). In conclusion, the urinary excretion of IL-1ra, TNF-R I and R II, and RANTES examined conjointly are effective in predicting favorable response to immunosuppressive treatment in patients with GN.
-
J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jan 2013
The role of urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein in critically ill patients.
Although several urinary biomarkers have been validated as early diagnostic markers of acute kidney injury (AKI), their usefulness as outcome predictors is not well established. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic and prognostic abilities of urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) in heterogeneous critically ill patients. We prospectively collected data on patients admitted to medical and surgical intensive care units (ICUs) from July 2010 to June 2011. ⋯ In multivariate Cox analysis, urinary L-FABP was an independent predictor for 90-day mortality. Urinary L-FABP seems to be promising both for the diagnosis of AKI and for the prediction of prognosis in heterogeneous ICU patients. It needs to be further validated for clinical utility.