Inflammatory proteases (mast cell tryptase and trypsins) cleave protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) on spinal afferent neurons and cause persistent inflammation and hyperalgesia by unknown mechanisms. We determined whether transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1), a cation channel activated by capsaicin, protons, and noxious heat, mediates PAR2-induced hyperalgesia. PAR2 was c...

Neuropathic pain remains intractable and the development of new therapeutic strategies are urgently required. Accumulating evidence indicates that overproduction of oxidative stress is a key event in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. However, repeated intra-peritoneal or intrathecal injections of antioxidants are unsuitable for continuous use in therapy. Here we show a novel therapeutic met...

The arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus plays a key role in pain processing. Although it is well known that inhibition of NMDA receptor (NMDAR) in ARC attenuates hyperalgesia induced by peripheral inflammation, the underlying mechanism of NMDAR activation in ARC remains unclear. Protein kinase C (PKC) is involved in several signalling cascades activated in physiological and pathological c...

There is as yet no conclusive evidence for the heritability of pain sensitivity in humans. We performed a classical twin study to evaluate the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors on responses to painful stimuli in women. Ninety-eight pairs of twins, 51 monozygotic (MZ) and 47 dizygotic (DZ), were recruited from the TwinsUK adult registry held at St Thomas' Hospital, Lond...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of anti-inflammatory drugs (dexamethasone, indomethacin, atenolol and indomethacin plus atenolol) and analgesic drugs (morphine) on hyperalgesia experimentally induced by the nucleus pulposus (NP) in contact with the L5 dorsal root ganglion (DRG). METHODS Thirty male Wistar rats of weights ranging from 220 to 250 g were used in the study. Hyperalgesia was indu...

Neuropathic pain constitutes a serious therapeutic problem. In most cases polytherapy is necessary. Tramadol and antidepressants have common mechanisms of action and are frequently used together in clinical practice, thus interaction between them is very important. In the present study isobolographic analysis for equivalent doses of drugs was applied to examine the nature of interaction between...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to use quantitative sensory testing (QST) to explore the range and prevalence of somatosensory abnormalities demonstrated by patients with advanced knee OA. METHODS One hundred and seven knee OA patients and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy participants attended a 1-h QST session. Testing was performed on the medial side of the knee and the pain-free forearm...

BACKGROUND P2X4 receptor (P2X4R), a purinoceptor expressed in activated spinal microglia, plays a key role in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. Spinal nerve injury induces up-regulation of P2X4R on activated microglia in the spinal cord, and blockade of this receptor can reduce neuropathic pain. The present study was undertaken to determine whether paroxetine, an inhibitor of P2X4R, could a...

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) produced in the medial preoptic region (MPO) in response to immune signals is generally accepted to play a major role in triggering the illness response, a complex of physiological and behavioral changes induced by infection or injury. Hyperalgesia is now thought to be an important component of the illness response, yet the specific mechanisms through which the MPO acts ...

The present studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that activation of peripheral cannabinoid CB(2) receptors would suppress hyperalgesia evoked by intradermal administration of capsaicin, the pungent ingredient in hot chili peppers. The CB(2)-selective cannabinoid agonist (2-iodo-5-nitro-phenyl)-[1-(1-methyl-piperidin-2-ylmethyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]-methanone (AM1241) (33, 330 microg/kg i.p.)...