Neuroreport
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The heat/capsaicin sensitization model is a new human experimental pain model that synergistically combines non-invasive physical and chemical methods of nociceptor stimulation to produce stable and long-lasting hyperalgesia with a low potential for skin injury. In 10 healthy volunteers the forearm was stimulated with a 45 degrees C thermode for 5 min to produce an area of secondary hyperalgesia. ⋯ The evoked pain was moderate and well tolerated. The heat/capsaicin sensitization model should be well suited for studying pain mechanisms and testing new analgesics.
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Clinical Trial
Decreased calmodulin-NR1 co-assembly as a mechanism for focal epilepsy in cortical dysplasia.
The NMDA receptor is one of the ionotropic glutamate receptors essential for excitatory neurotransmission. The NMDAR1 subunit is inactivated by direct interaction with calmodulin. ⋯ In all patients, the co-assembly of calmodulin and NMDAR1 was decreased in epileptogenic dysplastic cortex compared with normal appearing non-epileptogenic cortex, while there was no significant difference in the total protein levels of calmodulin or NMDAR1 between the two EEG groups. These results suggest that decreased calmodulin-NMDAR1 co-assembly is a cellular mechanism that contributes to hyperexcitability in dysplastic cortical neurons and in focal seizure onsets.