Abstract
Depression and pain disorders share a high degree of comorbidity. Inflammatory mechanisms play an important role in the pathogenesis of depression-chronic somatic pain comorbidity. In this study, we investigated the effects of acupuncture on blood and brain regional tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in rats with depression and chronic somatic pain comorbidity. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following 4 groups with 10 each: control, model, model treated with transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), and model treated with electroacupuncture (EA). Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) with chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve (CCI) was used to produce depression and chronic somatic pain comorbidity in the latter 3 groups. The rats of the taVNS and EA groups received, respectively, taVNS and EA at ST 36 for 28 days. Pain intensity was measured using a mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal stimulation latency once biweekly. Depressive behavior was examined using a sucrose preference test at baseline and the end of modeling and intervention. The level of plasma TNF-α and the expression of TNF-α in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus were measured. While CUMS plus CCI produced remarkable depression-like behavior and pain disorders, EA and taVNS significantly improved depression and reduced pain intensity. CUMS plus CCI also resulted in a significant increase in plasma TNF-α level and the expression in all brain regions examined compared to the intact controls. Both EA and taVNS interventions, however, suppressed the elevated level of TNF-α. These results suggest that EA and taVNS have antidepressant and analgesic effects. Such effects may be associated with the suppression of TNF-α-related neuroinflammation.
Highlights
Depression is a common mental disorder and often accompanied with unexplained painful physical symptoms [1]
Compared with the control group, the weight decreased significantly in the transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), EA, and model groups at -14 day and 0 day (P < 0:01), indicating the weight of rats were affected by Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)
The weight decreased in the taVNS group at 28 day compared with the EA group, but no statistical difference was found between them (P > 0:05) (Table 1)
Summary
Depression is a common mental disorder and often accompanied with unexplained painful physical symptoms [1]. The prevalence of chronic pain is about 51.8% to 59.1% among patients with depression [2]. Pain and depression share a complex reciprocal relationship [3]. (1) More severe depression is accompanied with greater pain. (2) Improvement in pain correlates with improvement in depression [4]. (3) Pain affects the prognosis and treatment of depression, and vice versa [2]. When chronic pain and depression occur concomitantly, the prognosis is worse than in either case, leading to greater functional impairment, longer duration, and less effective medication [5]. Finding out the underlying mechanisms in order to ensure appropriate treatment and promote the development of new treatments for depression and comorbid pain is urgently needed [6]
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