Kaohsiung J Med Sci
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · May 2012
The antinociceptive effect of acetaminophen in a rat model of neuropathic pain.
Acetaminophen is one of the most popular and widely used analgesics for the treatment of pain and fever but few studies have evaluated its effects on neuropathic pain. This study examined the effect of acetaminophen on thermal hyperalgesia, mechanical and cold allodynia in a rat model of neuropathic pain. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared by tightly ligating the left L5 and L6 spinal nerves to produce a model of neuropathic pain. ⋯ The hepatic and renal adverse effect was also assessed by measuring the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. The paw withdrawal thresholds to mechanical stimuli and the thermal withdrawal threshold were increased significantly and withdrawal frequencies to cold stimuli were reduced by acetaminophen administration in a dose-dependent manner. Acetaminophen reduces thermal hyperalgesia, mechanical and cold allodynia in a rat model of neuropathic pain, and might be useful for managing neuropathic pain.