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Query: UMLS:C0162473 (Frey)
 2,599 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The development of chronically painful states following peripheral nerve injury may involve different mechanisms depending on the nature and extent of the nerve lesion. The altered spinal neurochemistry of two substances, the excitatory amino acid glutamate operating via the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and the endogenous opioid peptide dynorphin, have been implicated in behavioral sequelae that follow partial peripheral nerve injury. In addition, dynorphin has nonopioid functions which may involve the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. We investigated two hypotheses: that the development of mechanical allodynia following complete nerve injury is not greatly influenced by the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, and that spinal dynorphin and glutamate expression is interdependent. These studies employed sciatic cryoneurolysis, a complete but transient peripheral nerve injury that results in a delayed mechanical allodynia beginning 21-28 days after injury. Rats were administered dizocipline maleate (MK-801) at 0.25 mg/kg twice per day intraperitoneally from days 0-7 or from days 0-21 post-lesion to pre-emptively block the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. In a separate group of rats, an antibody to dynorphin was administered intraperitoneally at 16.6 mg/kg twice per day from days 14 to 21 post-lesion. For all groups, the outcome of allodynia behavior was assessed using von Frey filaments at 42 days post-lesion and the resulting dynorphin and glutamate immunoreactivity in the substantia gelatinosa was measured using proportional area stained and relative optical density, respectively. Only the 0-7 day MK-801 treatment increased the resulting mechanical thresholds significantly (mean +/- S.E.M. 7.0 +/- 1.2 g) when compared to saline-injected animals (3.9 +/- 0.6 g). However, this effect did not prevent allodynia since baseline thresholds were 12 or 15 g for each group. With regard to resulting spinal immunoreactivity, anti-dynorphin antibody treatment significantly increased glutamate immunoreactivity when compared to saline-treated animals (mean relative optical density +/- S.E.M. = 807.2 +/- 3.6 versus 779.6 +/- 8.3, respectively; P = 0.01) at 42 days post-lesion. We conclude that the development of allodynia following sciatic cryoneurolysis peripheral nerve injury involved a minimal contribution from N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activity. In addition, this study demonstrated that decreasing available dynorphin using antiserum had a significant and lasting effect on spinal glutamate expression without altering the outcome of allodynia. These conclusions suggest that etiological mechanisms leading to pain behaviors are not equal for all nerve injuries, and that altering kappa opioid levels can affect glutaminergic pathways at a substantially later time.
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PMID:Pre-emptive dynorphin and N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor antagonism alters spinal immunocytochemistry but not allodynia following complete peripheral nerve injury. 873 21

The involvement of excitatory amino acid receptors in peripheral nociceptive processing was assessed in two separate experiments. In the first, one knee joint cavity of rats was injected with 0.1 ml of L-glutamate (0.001 mM; 0.1 mM; 1.0 mM), L-aspartate (0.001 mM; 0.1 mM: 1.0 mM), L-arginine (0.1 mM) or different combinations of these amino acids. The animals tested for paw withdrawal latency to radiant heat and withdrawal threshold to von Frey filaments at different time points. Combinations of glutamate/aspartate, aspartate/arginine or glutamate/aspartate/arginine when injected into the joint, in the absence of any other treatment, reduced the paw withdrawal latency and withdrawal threshold immediately after the injection and persisting up to 5 h indicating the development of hyperalgesia and allodynia. Subsequent intra-articular injection of either an NMDA or a non-NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist ((+/-)-2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid (AP7), 0.2 mM) or 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), 0.1 mM) attenuated the thermal hyperalgesia and the mechanical allodynia produced by glutamate/aspartate/arginine. On the other hand, in a second experiment intra-articular injection of AP7, ketamine or CNQX reversed the hyperalgesia and allodynia produced by injection of a mixture of kaolin and carrageenan into the joint. These receptor antagonists, however, did not have an effect on the joint edema. These findings provide evidence for a potential role of peripheral NMDA and non-NMDA receptors in nociceptive transmission.
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PMID:Excitatory amino acid receptor involvement in peripheral nociceptive transmission in rats. 914 68

Evidence indicates that excitatory amino acids (EAAs) like glutamate and aspartate are important in the processing of nociceptive information in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Recently, the role of particular EAA receptors in pain transmission and facilitated pain states has been examined utilizing spinal administration of specific receptor antagonists. Most investigators have studied the involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) EAA receptors in hyperalgesia and nociception; less is known about the importance of non-NMDA EAA receptors in animal models of persistent pain. To study the role of spinal non-NMDA EAA receptors in pain behaviors caused by an incision, we examined the effect of i.t. administered non-NMDA EAA receptor antagonists in a rat model of postoperative pain. Rats with i.t. catheters were anesthetized and underwent a plantar incision. Withdrawal threshold to punctate stimulation applied adjacent to the wound using von Frey filaments, response frequency to application of a non-punctate stimulus applied directly to the wound and non-evoked pain behaviors were measured before and after administration of i.t. 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-nitro-2,3-dioxo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide (NBQX), 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX), or vehicle. A separate group of animals were also tested for motor impairment caused by these drugs. In the vehicle-treated group, the median withdrawal threshold for punctate hyperalgesia decreased from 522 mN before surgery to 39 mN 2 h later; hyperalgesia was persistent. Intrathecal administration of 5 or 10 nmol of NBQX returned the withdrawal threshold toward preincision values; the median withdrawal thresholds were 158 and 360 mN, respectively. Intrathecal administration of 10 nmol of DNQX similarly increased the withdrawal threshold after incision. In separate groups of animals, i.t. administration of 5 or 10 nmol of NBQX decreased the response frequency to a non-punctate stimulus applied directly to the incision from 100+/-0% 2 h after surgery to 22+/-11 and 0+/-0% 30 min after drug injection, respectively. Similar results were observed with i.t. administration of 10 nmol of DNQX. Intrathecal NBQX also inhibited non-evoked pain behavior. In conclusion, non-NMDA receptor antagonists produced a marked decrease in pain behaviors in this model of postoperative pain. Thus, non-NMDA receptors are important for the maintenance of short-term pain behaviors caused by an incision and drugs blocking these receptors may be useful for the treatment of postoperative pain in patients.
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PMID:Intrathecal non-NMDA excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists inhibit pain behaviors in a rat model of postoperative pain. 952 Feb 36

An open trial was conducted to study the potential efficacy of lamotrigine, a novel antiepileptic agent that blocks voltage-sensitive sodium channels and inhibits the release of glutamate, in relieving the pain associated with diabetic neuropathy. Subsequent to a 1 week washout period from previous analgesics, lamotrigine was administered at a dose of 25 mg/day for 1 week. The dose was doubled on a weekly basis up to 400 mg/day over 6 weeks. The McGill pain questionnaire (MPQ), spontaneous pain and a series of mechanical and thermal stimuli-induced pain were measured with the use of 0-100 visual analogue scale (VAS), on seven office visits. Pain level was also recorded by each patient twice daily, 1 week before, during, and 2 weeks after the treatment period with the use of a 0-10 numerical pain scale (NPS). Quantitative mechanical (Von Frey filaments) and thermal testing (QTT), and routine blood tests were performed at the beginning and at the end of the study. Thirteen patients completed the study. Spontaneous pain measured by VAS and NPS gradually dropped from a baseline of 49 +/- 8 and 6.8 +/- 0.6, to 20 +/- 8.6 (p < 0.001) and 4.3 +/- 0.9 (p < 0.001), respectively, at the end of the treatment period. Similarly, cold allodynia dropped from 38 +/- 9.2 to 16 +/- 15.3 (p = 0.01), and the MPQ score from 13.6 +/- 0.8 to 11.0 +/- 1.5 (p < 0.01). In contrast, no significant changes were found in the QTT, mechanical pain thresholds and laboratory results. Two patients were withdrawn from the study because of adverse effects. A long-term follow up showed that most patients were still using lamotrigine 6 months after the end of the study. The results of the study suggest that lamotrigine is potentially effective and safe in treating painful diabetic neuropathy. Copyright Rapid Science Ltd
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PMID:Lamotrigine in the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. 1021 Aug 28

There is now mounting evidence supporting the hypothesis that pathological perceptual disorders described as secondary hyperalgesia and allodynia may be due to sensitization of spinal cord dorsal horn neurons. Protein kinase C (PKC) is thought to be one of the factors in the cascade of events leading from peripheral tissue damage to the sensitization of central neurons. In our experiments, we have used local microdialysis administration of the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) to activate PKC in the spinal cord dorsal horn in awake rats. In behavioral tests the responsiveness of the animals to von Frey filaments (1-1200 mN) and to heat stimuli applied to the hindpaws was tested. Thirty minutes after the TPA infusion the threshold for the paw withdrawal response was significantly decreased (from 160 to 6 mN) and the responses to suprathreshold stimuli were more robust. An increased mechanical sensitivity was no longer present when tested 1.5 and 5 h after the TPA application was terminated. When heat stimuli were tested, the TPA infusion resulted in a significantly prolonged time during which the animals held their hindpaws above the supporting surface after the heat stimulus (0.5 and 1.5 h after TPA), and in a decreased threshold for the heat stimulus (latency of withdrawal) 5 h after TPA. HPLC analysis of the perfusate obtained by microdialysis in vivo showed a significant increase in the extracellular levels of aspartate, glutamate, glycine and taurine, and a decrease of the glutamine level during TPA infusion. The levels of asparagine, serine, threonine and alanine did not change. Application of the inactive phorbol ester (alpha-TPA) did not evoke any change from the control values either in the AA concentrations or in the behavioral tests. Our results suggest that activation of PKC in the spinal cord evokes mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia and provides further evidence that PKC is involved in the process of the modulation of nociceptive information at the spinal cord level.
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PMID:The effect of phorbol esters on spinal cord amino acid concentrations and responsiveness of rats to mechanical and thermal stimuli. 1034 21

Nociceptive primary afferent C-fibers express a subset of glutamate receptors that are sensitive to kainic acid. Thus, we tested the possibility that activation of these receptors alters nociception. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of kainic acid induced a persistent thermal hyperalgesia, when tested using the hot plate (mice) and tail flick (mice and rats) assays, and mechanical hyperalgesia when tested using von Frey monofilaments (rats), but had no effect on acetic acid-induced chemical nociception (mice). When administered i. p., 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), an (R, S)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-proprionic acid HBr/kainate (AMPA/KA) antagonist, completely blocked hyperalgesia. When injected intrathecally (i.t.), kainic acid itself failed to induce hyperalgesia and AMPA/KA antagonists given i.t. also failed to attenuate the hyperalgesic effect of kainic acid administered i.p. , indicating that the spinal cord is not the primary site of action. Kainic acid injected subcutaneously in the back of mice decreased response latencies in the hot plate and tail flick assays, indicating that hyperalgesia is achieved by a variety of parenteral routes of injection. Histological evaluation of rat spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia revealed no neurodegenerative changes 24 h after kainic acid. Together these data suggest that a persistent hyperalgesia results from the transient activation of AMPA/KA receptors that are located outside the spinal cord, perhaps on the distal projections of primary afferent fibers.
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PMID:Parenterally administered kainic acid induces a persistent hyperalgesia in the mouse and rat. 1053 8

Recent studies suggest a role of Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors in mediating the development of spinal hypersensitivity in some pain states. Here, the possible role of mGluR(5) receptors in experimental neuropathic pain elicited by ligation of spinal nerves (L(5)/L(6) spinal nerve ligation, SNL) was explored with SIB-1757, a selective mGluR(5) antagonist. SNL-induced tactile allodynia was detected by decreased paw withdrawal thresholds to probing with von Frey filaments and thermal hyperalgesia by decreased paw withdrawal latencies to radiant heat applied to the plantar aspect of the hindpaw. SIB-1757 was given by either intrathecal (i.th.), subcutaneous (s.c.) or intraplantar (i.pl.) injection. In SNL rats, i.th. SIB-1757 produced a partial reversal of tactile allodynia with a shallow dose-response curve ranging over three-orders of magnitude; SIB-1757 was inactive against allodynia when given systemically. SIB-1757 produced full reversal of thermal hyperalgesia in SNL rats following administration either spinally or locally to the injured paw; administration to the contralateral paw had no effect. SIB-1757 did not produce antinociception in either the SNL or sham-operated rats by any route. These data suggest a significant modulation of thermal hyperalgesia by mGluR(5) antagonists, consistent with reports that this receptor may be associated with afferent C-fibers. The less impressive effect seen on tactile allodynia, likely to be mediated by large fiber input, suggests that the observed modulation may be related to blockade of mGluR(5)-mediated spinal sensitization. These results do not support the involvement of these receptors in modulation of acute nociception but suggest the possibility of a role for Group I mGluRs in the mediation of aspects of neuropathic pain which may be associated with C-fiber inputs.
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PMID:Peripheral and spinal antihyperalgesic activity of SIB-1757, a metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGLUR(5)) antagonist, in experimental neuropathic pain in rats. 1099 62

Anatomical studies demonstrate the presence of glutamate receptors on unmyelinated axons in peripheral cutaneous nerves. Pharmacological studies show that intraplantar injection of glutamate or glutamate agonists in the glabrous skin results in nociceptive behaviors. The present study describes a novel in vitro skin-nerve preparation using the glabrous skin from the rat hindpaw. In the first series of experiments, recordings were obtained from 141 fibers that responded to a strong mechanical search stimulus. Based on their conduction velocity they were classified as C (27%), A delta (28%) and A beta (45%) fibers. The C and A delta fibers typically exhibited sustained firing during suprathreshold mechanical stimuli whereas both rapidly (66%) and slowly (34%) adapting responses were obtained from A beta fibers. Noxious heat excited 46% of the C fibers but only 12% of the A delta units. In another series of experiments application of an ascending series of glutamate concentrations (10, 100, 300, and 1000 microM) to A delta (n=14) and C (n=19) nociceptors resulted in a significant excitation of 43% (6/14) A delta fibers and 68% (13/19) C fibers. At these concentrations, there was no excitation of A beta units (n=13). Superfusion of the receptive fields of either mechanoheat-sensitive A (AMH, n=10) or C fibers (CMH, n=12) for 2 min with 300 microM glutamate resulted in sensitization of 90% (9/10) AMH and 92% (11/12) CMH fibers to subsequent thermal stimulation. This was evidenced by a significant (1) decrease in thermal threshold for activation, (2) increase in discharge rate, and (3) increase in peak instantaneous frequencies during the second heat trial. Glutamate-induced sensitization to heat occurred in the absence of either a glutamate-induced excitation or an initial heat response. Exposure of A delta or C fibers to glutamate did not result in a decrease in von Frey thresholds. These data provide a physiological basis for the nociceptive behaviors that arise following intraplantar injection of glutamate or glutamate agonists. Furthermore, demonstration of glutamate-induced excitation and heat sensitization of nociceptors indicates that local or topical administration of glutamate receptor antagonists may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of pain.
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PMID:Glutamate-induced excitation and sensitization of nociceptors in rat glabrous skin. 1116 75

N-Acetylated-alpha-linked acidic dipeptidase (NAALADase) hydrolyzes N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAAG) to liberate N-acetyl-aspartate and glutamate. NAAG is a putative neurotransmitter and acts as a mixed agonist/antagonist on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and acts as an agonist on the metabotropic glutamate receptor 3 (mGluR3). In the present study, we examined the role of spinal NAALADase in the maintenance of mechanical allodynia induced by carrageenan injection, skin incision and mild thermal injury using 2-(phosphonomethyl)pentanedioic acid (2-PMPA), a specific NAALADase inhibitor, in rats. Mechanical allodynia was induced by injection of 2 mg carrageenan into the paw (carrageenan model), by creating a 1-cm longitudinal skin incision of the plantar aspect of the foot (post-operative model), or by application of thermal stimulation (52.5 degrees C) for 45 s to the hind paw (mild thermal injury model). 2-PMPA was administered intrathecally at the time when the maximum mechanical allodynia occurred. Mechanical allodynia was assessed by the measurement of mechanical threshold using von Frey filaments. The mechanical threshold was measured 5, 15, 30, 60 and 90 min after the drug administration. In the carrageenan model, 100 microg of 2-PMPA attenuated the level of mechanical allodynia. 2-PMPA had no effect on the level of mechanical allodynia in both the post-operative pain model and the mild thermal injury model. These data suggested that the inhibition of spinal NAALADase alleviated mechanical allodynia induced by paw carrageenan injection.
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PMID:Spinal N-acetyl-alpha-linked acidic dipeptidase (NAALADase) inhibition attenuates mechanical allodynia induced by paw carrageenan injection in the rat. 1147 30

In rats, intradermal or intraarticular injection of glutamate or selective excitatory amino acid receptor agonists acting at peripheral excitatory amino acid receptors can decrease the intensity of mechanical stimulation required to evoke nocifensive behaviors, an indication of hyperalgesia. Since excitatory amino acid receptors have been found on the terminal ends of cutaneous primary afferent fibers, it has been suggested that increased tissue glutamate levels may have a direct sensitizing effect on primary afferent fibers, in particular skin nociceptors. However, less is known about the effects of glutamate on deep tissue afferent fibers. In the present study, a series of experiments were undertaken to investigate the effect of intramuscular injection of glutamate on the excitability and mechanical threshold of masseter muscle afferent fibers in anesthetized rats of both sexes. Injection of 1.0 M, but not 0.1 M glutamate evoked masseter muscle afferent activity that was significantly greater than that evoked by isotonic saline. The mechanical threshold of masseter muscle afferent fibers, which was assessed with a Von Frey hair, was reduced by approximately 50% for a period of 30 min after injection of 1.0 M glutamate, but was unaffected by injections of 0.1 M glutamate or isotonic saline. Injection of 25% dextrose, which has the same osmotic strength as 1.0 M glutamate, did not evoke significant activity in or decrease the mechanical threshold of masseter muscle afferent fibers. Magnetic resonance imaging experiments confirmed that injection of 25% dextrose and 1.0 M glutamate produced similar edema volumes in the masseter muscle tissue. Co-injection of 0.1 M kynurenate, an excitatory amino acid receptor antagonist, and 1.0 M glutamate attenuated glutamate-evoked afferent activity and prevented glutamate-induced mechanical sensitization. When male and female rats were compared, no difference in the baseline mechanical threshold or in the magnitude of glutamate-induced mechanical sensitization of masseter muscle afferent fibers was observed; however, the afferent fiber activity evoked by injection of 1.0 M glutamate into the masseter muscle was greater in female rats. The results of the present experiments show that intramuscular injection of 1.0 M glutamate excites and sensitizes rat masseter muscle afferent fibers through activation of peripheral excitatory amino acid receptors and that glutamate-evoked afferent fiber activity, but not sensitization, is greater in female than male rats.
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PMID:Glutamate-induced sensitization of rat masseter muscle fibers. 1180 73


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