Articles: neuralgia.
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To establish a new animal model for the study of neuropathic pain developed by administration of cobra venom to the brachial plexus (BP) lower trunk. ⋯ The cobra venom model can be used as a model to induce neuropathic pain and to enable study of the mechanism and treatment.
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"Burst ketamine" (BK) is the long-term infusion of subanesthetic ketamine in combination with an opioid. It is used clinically with mixed success to provide long-term pain relief and improve opioid response in patients. BK has not been simulated preclinically, therefore, its effectiveness was investigated in an animal model of neuropathic pain--streptozotocin-induced diabetic neuropathy. ⋯ This is the first preclinical study to use a model of neuropathic pain to demonstrate the utility of the BK procedure for delivering a long-lasting reduction in hyperalgesia and improved antinociceptive responsiveness to opioids.
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Noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors are known to produce analgesia through a spinal action but they also act in the brain. However, the action of noradrenaline on supraspinal pain control regions is understudied. The authors addressed the noradrenergic modulation of the dorsal reticular nucleus (DRt), a medullary pronociceptive area, in the spared nerve injury (SNI) model of neuropathic pain. ⋯ Chronic pain induces brainstem noradrenergic activation that enhances descending facilitation from the DRt. This suggests that antidepressants inhibiting noradrenaline reuptake may enhance pain facilitation from the brain, counteracting their analgesic effects at the spinal cord.
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Acta neurologica Belgica · Sep 2015
Clinical TrialCapsaicin 8 % as a cutaneous patch (Qutenza™): analgesic effect on patients with peripheral neuropathic pain.
Evaluation of the analgesic effect after a single application of the capsaicin 8 % cutaneous patch (Qutenza™) in 37 patients suffering from painful, distal symmetric polyneuropathy (PNP) for an average of 5 years. Patients ranged from 40 to 78 years of age and 22 subjects were HIV-positive. Patients were observed 4 weeks prior to 12 weeks post administration. ⋯ Symptoms of painful PNP decreased over the period of investigation and 8 patients reported a reduction of systemic pain medication. In patients with an HIV infection, a significant extension of sleep was achieved for 2, 4 and 8 weeks after application. Thus, the application of the capsaicin 8 % patch resulted in a significant relief of neuropathic pain, a prolongation of sleep, a reduction of oral pain medication and a resumption of social activities.
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Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment is a minimally invasive technique with multiple therapeutic applications. Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channel mediating Ih may regulate neuropathic pain signaling. This study aimed to determine whether PRF suppresses neuropathic pain by altering HCN channel expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. ⋯ The results showed that thermal hyperalgesia, mechano-allodynia, and mechano-hyperalgesia were lower, and DRG expression levels of HCN1 and HCN2 higher, in the PRF group compared with sham control animals (all P < 0.05 at D14). In conclusion, PRF can upregulate HCN channel expression in the DRG of rats with sciatic nerve CCI. How this regulation of Ih in nociceptive afferents contributes to the suppression of neuropathic pain by PRF remains to be determined.