Pain physician
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Electroacupuncture (EA) is widely applied to treat neuropathic pain. Brachial plexus neuralgia (BPN) is a common form of chronic persistent pain. Few studies have evaluated the analgesic effects and mechanism of EA using the novel animal model of BPN. ⋯ Repeated EA contributes significant analgesic effects in the treatment of BPN.
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Many pain states are linked to central nervous system (CNS) diseases involving the dysfunction of dendritic arborization, making restoration a promising therapeutic strategy. Transfection of primary cortex neurons offers the possibility to study mechanisms which are important for the restoration of proper arborization. Its progress is, however, limited at present due to the lack of suitable gene transfer techniques. ⋯ Based on these findings, lipofection might be advantageous for in vitro application to primary cultured cortex neurons. Pain states, stress mediated pathogenesis, and certain CNS diseases might potentially utilize this important technique in the future as a therapeutic modality.