Abstract
In cats, osteoarthritis causes significant chronic pain. Chronicity of pain is associated with changes in the central nervous system related to central sensitization, which have to be quantified. Our objectives were 1) to develop a quantitative sensory testing device in cats for applying repetitive mechanical stimuli that would evoke temporal summation; 2) to determine the sensitivity of this test to osteoarthritis-associated pain, and 3) to examine the possible correlation between the quantitative sensory testing and assessment using other pain evaluation methods. We hypothesized that mechanical sub-threshold repetitive stimuli would evoke temporal summation, and that cats with osteoarthritis would show a faster response. A blinded longitudinal study was performed in 4 non-osteoarthritis cats and 10 cats with naturally occurring osteoarthritis. Quantification of chronic osteoarthritis pain-related disability was performed over a two week period using peak vertical force kinetic measurement, motor activity intensity assessment and von Frey anesthesiometer-induced paw withdrawal threshold testing. The cats afflicted with osteoarthritis demonstrated characteristic findings consistent with osteoarthritis-associated chronic pain. After a 14-day acclimation period, repetitive mechanical sub-threshold stimuli were applied using a purpose-developed device. Four stimulation profiles of predetermined intensity, duration and time interval were applied randomly four times during a four-day period. The stimulation profiles were different (P<0.001): the higher the intensity of the stimulus, the sooner it produced a consistent painful response. The cats afflicted with osteoarthritis responded more rapidly than cats osteoarthritis free (P = 0.019). There was a positive correlation between the von Frey anesthesiometer-induced paw withdrawal threshold and the response to stimulation profiles #2 (2N/0.4 Hz) and #4 (2N/0.4 Hz): Rhos = 0.64 (P = 0.01) and 0.63 (P = 0.02) respectively. This study is the first report of mechanical temporal summation in awake cats. Our results suggest that central sensitization develops in cats with naturally occurring osteoarthritis, providing an opportunity to improve translational research in osteoarthritis-associated chronic pain.
Highlights
Feline osteoarthritis (OA) develops with ageing in diarthrodial joints, predominantly the elbow, coxofemoral and stifle joints, and causes chronic pain [1,2,3,4]
peak vertical ground reaction force (PVF) after exercise in the most affected hindlimb tended to be lower in the OA cats compared with the non-OA cats (Fig. 3A; cat group effect P = 0.070): least squares means estimate difference (LSD; 95% confidence interval (95% CI)) = 20.059 kg (20.124, 0.005)
The objective methods PVF, motor activity (MA) intensity and von Frey anesthesiometer-induced paw withdrawal threshold (vFWT) used in this study to evaluate OA-associated chronic pain enabled nonOA, non painful cats, and painful OA cats to be distinguished
Summary
Feline osteoarthritis (OA) develops with ageing in diarthrodial joints, predominantly the elbow, coxofemoral and stifle joints, and causes chronic pain [1,2,3,4]. Assessment of chronic pain in animals with OA takes into account the impact of pain on both physical ability and quality of life. Owners of cats with OA observe a number of altered behaviour patterns such as decreased daily activity and a reluctance to jump or to walk up stairs [5,6,7,8]. Objective functional methods have been developed to evaluate OA-associated disability in cats. The peak vertical ground reaction force (PVF) quantifies limb impairment that may be related to decreased use because of pain [9,10,11]. Accelerometer-based motor activity (MA) assessment enables objective quantification of the impairment of normal function related to OA-associated chronic pain [10,12,13]
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