Abstract
Pain initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the nervous system is defined as neuropathic pain. About 75 -150 million people in the United States are suffering for chronic pain disorder. Neuropathic pain has a great impact on the human wellbeing. It is very debilitating and often has an associated degree of depression that contributes to decreasing the quality of life. Moreover, the management of chronic pain is costly to the health care system. Pain is a national healthcare priority in US: the United States Congress has declared the present decade (2001-2010) as the "Decade of Pain Control and Research". Neuropathic pain is a very complex disease, involving several molecular pathways. Due to its individual character, its treatment is extremely difficult. Current available drugs are usually not acting on the several mechanisms underlying the generation and propagation of pain. Nowadays, pain research is focusing on newer molecular ways, such as stem cell therapy, gene therapy, and viral vectors for delivery of biologic anti-nociceptive molecules. These methods could provide a new therapeutic approach to neuropathic pain relief.
Highlights
Pain research is focusing on newer molecular ways, such as stem cell therapy, gene therapy, and viral vectors for delivery of biologic anti-nociceptive molecules
Interactions between nociceptive b and non-nociceptive afferent pathways control u the transmission of nociceptive information to .p higher centres in the brain [5]. w Due to nociceptive input, such as peripheral nerve injury, the spinal cord anatomical w structure is subjected to a re-organization. w the myelinated primary afferent fibers anti-nociceptive response is increased by the GABA neurotransmission [11]
MPEP, the potent and selective antagonist for metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5, is able to prevent the development of thermal hyperalgesia, transiently reduce mechanical hyperalgesia in neuropathic rats, Specific antagonists for the neuronal calcium channel are able to reduce heat hyperalgesia and prevent the over-expression of proapoptotic genes in dorsal horn spinal cord neurons [3]
Summary
Pain research is focusing on newer molecular ways, such as stem cell therapy, gene therapy, and viral vectors for delivery of biologic anti-nociceptive molecules. Horn of the spinal cord of neuropathic rats are modified by peripheral nerve injury [13].
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