BACKGROUND Nerve ligation injury in rats produces a pain syndrome that includes mechanical allodynia. Intrathecal administration of cholinesterase inhibitors or adenosine receptor agonists have anti-allodynic effects in this model. Therefore, we tested the interaction between intrathecal neostigmine and N(6)-cyclohexyladenosine (CHA) in a rat behavioral model of neuropathic pain. METHODS Male...

To test the possibility of a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) γ agonist to treat neuropathic pain, we examined the effects of pioglitazone, a PPARγ agonist, on tactile allodynia and expression of activated microglia in the dorsal horn of spinal cord using neuropathic pain model. The unilateral sciatic nerve was partially ligated (PSL) in male ICR mice. Pioglitazone (1-25 mg/kg ...

BACKGROUND Exogenous erythropoietin inhibits development of allodynia in experimental painful neuropathy because of its antiinflammatory and neuroprotective properties at spinal, supraspinal, and possibly peripheral sites. The authors assess the effect of a nonhematopoietic erythropoietin analog, ARA290, on tactile and cold allodynia in a model of neuropathic pain (spared nerve injury) in rats ...

To clarify the role of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) in neuropathic pain, we examined the effect of pioglitazone, a PPARgamma agonist, on tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in a neuropathic pain model. Mice were subjected to partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSL) and given pioglitazone (1 - 25 mg/kg, p.o.) once daily. PPARgamma was distributed in the neurons...

C57BLKS db/db (db/db) mice develop a neuropathy with features of human type 2 diabetic neuropathy. Here, we demonstrate that these mice develop transient mechanical allodynia at the early stage of diabetes. We hypothesized that nerve growth factor (NGF), which enhances the expression of key mediators of nociception (i.e. substance P [SP] and calcitonin gene-related peptide), contributes to the ...

Bortezomib, an inhibitor of proteasome holoenzyme, is used to treat relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Peripheral neuropathy is a treatment-limiting adverse effect of bortezomib and is very difficult to control. In this study, we examined the efficacy of gabapentin in inhibiting bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy. Single intravenous injections of bortezomib (0.03 - 0.3 mg/kg) dose-...

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a debilitating chronic pain condition often accompanied by a sensation of pain when the affected region is touched (tactile allodynia). Here we identify brain regions involved in stimulus-induced touch-evoked pain (dynamical mechanical allodynia, DMA), compare brain activity between DMA and spontaneous pain (described earlier for the same patients in [Geha PY, Ba...

The amplification of pain long after the initial stimulus may be avoided if the treatment of pain is introduced before its initiation. However, conflicting evidence exists about the efficacy of such preemptive analgesia for the management of postoperative pain. This study compares the efficacy of intraplantar administration of indomethacin (a non-selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase) and MK886...

Activation of cannabinoid CB(2) receptors suppresses neuropathic pain induced by traumatic nerve injury. The present studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of cannabinoid CB(2) receptor activation in suppressing painful peripheral neuropathy evoked by chemotherapeutic treatment with the antitumor agent paclitaxel. Rats received paclitaxel (2 mg/kg i.p./day) on 4 alternate days to induc...

α-Conotoxins that are thought to act as antagonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) containing α3-subunits are efficacious in several preclinical models of chronic pain. Potent interactions of Vc1.1 with other targets have suggested that the pain-relieving actions of α-conotoxins might be mediated by either α9α10 nAChRs or a novel GABA(B) receptor-mediated inhibition of N-type cal...