Articles: neuralgia.
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Painful burn injuries are among the most debilitating form of trauma, globally ranking in the top 15 leading causes of chronic disease burden. Despite its prevalence, however, chronic pain after burn injury is under-studied. We previously demonstrated the contribution of the Rac1-signaling pathway in several models of neuropathic pain, including burn injury. ⋯ Treatment with romidepsin decreased dendritic spine dysgenesis, reduced c-fos expression, and rescued pain thresholds. Drug discontinuation resulted in a relapse of cellular correlates of pain and in lower pain thresholds in behavioral tests. Taken together, our findings identify Pak1 signaling as a potential molecular target for therapeutic intervention in traumatic burn-induced neuropathic pain.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2018
Repeated Administration of Duloxetine Suppresses Neuropathic Pain by Accumulating Effects of Noradrenaline in the Spinal Cord.
Antidepressants are used to treat neuropathic pain and although the detailed mechanisms of their effects are unclear, the descending noradrenergic inhibitory system might play an important role. We tested our hypothesis that repeated administration of duloxetine suppresses neuropathic pain by restoring the descending noradrenergic inhibitory system in rats 6 weeks after spinal nerve ligation (SNL). ⋯ These findings suggest that 3 daily injections of duloxetine suppressed hyperalgesia and recovered impaired NSIA in rats 6 weeks after nerve injury. Both effects of duloxetine were reversed by IT of an α2-adrenoceptor antagonist. These findings suggest the inhibitory effects of duloxetine against neuropathic pain depend on recovery of the noradrenergic descending inhibitory system, especially in the spinal cord.
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Handb Exp Pharmacol · Jan 2018
ReviewTranslational Model Systems for Complex Sodium Channel Pathophysiology in Pain.
Chronic pain patients are often left with insufficient treatment as the pathophysiology especially of neuropathic pain remains enigmatic. Recently, genetic variations in the genes of the voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) were linked to inherited neuropathic pain syndromes, opening a research pathway to foster our understanding of the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain. ⋯ Although efforts were undertaken to significantly advance our knowledge, translation from heterologous or animal model systems to humans remains a challenge. Here we present recent advances in translation using stem cell-derived human sensory neurons and their potential application for identification of better, effective, and more precise treatment for the individual pain patient.
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Multicenter Study
Development and validation of a Taiwan version of the ID Pain questionnaire (ID Pain-T).
Neuropathic pain (NeP) is distinct from nociceptive pain and has different underlying mechanisms requiring specific treatment strategies. To aid diagnosis, self-administered screening questionnaires (such as ID Pain) have been developed to help physicians identify patients with NeP. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a translated ID Pain questionnaire for Taiwanese subjects (ID Pain-T). ⋯ This study provides evidence that the ID Pain-T questionnaire is a valid and reliable self-administered screening tool to identify NeP in Taiwanese patients.