Translational perioperative and pain medicine
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Transl Perioper Pain Med · Jul 2015
Updated Mechanisms of Sickle Cell Disease-Associated Chronic pain.
Sickle cell disease (SCD), a hemoglobinopathy, causes sickling of red blood cells, resulting in vessel blockage, stroke, anemia, inflammation, and extreme pain. A vast majority of SCD patients experience pain on a chronic basis, and many turn to opioids to provide limited relief. ⋯ This article reviews the underlying pathophysiology of SCD, potential pain mechanisms, current treatments and their mechanism of action, and future directions of SCD-associated pain management. The information provided could help propel research in SCD-associated chronic pain and uncover novel treatment options for clinicians.
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Transl Perioper Pain Med · Jan 2014
The Anti-Nociception Effect of Dezocine in a Rat Neuropathic Pain Model.
The treatment of neuropathic pain (NP) currently remains clinically challenging. In an attempt to identify novel targets of known opioids, we found that dezocine, a non-addictive opioid, inhibits norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake through their transporter proteins which open the potential for dezocine to manage NP. In the present study, the effect of dezocine on NP was observed in a rat model of chronic constriction injury (CCI). ⋯ PWL and PWT tests were performed at 11:00 AM starting from 1 day before CCI surgery and 1, 3, 7, 10 days after right sciatic nerve ligation in the presence or absence of daily intraperitoneal injection of dezocine. The results demonstrated that the CCI-induced thermal and mechanical pain hypersensitivity was attenuated by dezocine significantly and persistently without sign of tolerance, indicating that dezocine could be an alternative medication for the treatment of NP. Clinical trial to confirm such discovery is warranted.