Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Takahiro Tadokoro, Mariana Bravo-Hernandez, Kirill Agashkov, Yoshiomi Kobayashi, Oleksandr Platoshyn, Michael Navarro, Silvia Marsala, Atsushi Miyanohara, Tetsuya Yoshizumi, Michiko Shigyo, Volodymyr Krotov, Stefan Juhas, Jana Juhasova, Duong Nguyen, Helena Kupcova Skalnikova, Jan Motlik, Hana Studenovska, Vladimir Proks, Rajiv Reddy, Shawn P. Driscoll, Thomas D. Glenn, Taratorn Kemthong, Suchinda Malaivijitnond, Zoltan Tomori, Ivo Vanicky, Manabu Kakinohana, Samuel L. Pfaff, Joseph Ciacci, Pavel Belan, Martin Marsala
Summary: Changing the excitatory neurotransmitter phenotype of secondary spinal cord neurons to inhibitory can successfully treat neuropathic pain without causing detectable side effects.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Zheng Ao, Hongwei Cai, Zhuhao Wu, Jonathan Krzesniak, Chunhui Tian, Yvonne Y. Lai, Ken Mackie, Feng Guo
Summary: The study introduces a human spinal organoid-on-a-chip device for modeling the biology and electrophysiology of human nociceptive neurons and dorsal horn interneurons. The device allows for testing nociceptive modulators and is cost-efficient, scalable, and easy to use. By integrating human sensory-spinal-cord organoids, the method shows promise for screening and validating novel therapeutics for human pain medicine discovery.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer, Karolina Werynska, Jacinthe Gingras, Gonzalo E. Yevenes
Summary: Restoring proper synaptic inhibition in the spinal cord, particularly through targeting the alpha 3 subtype of glycine receptors, may help reduce deleterious side effects and increase tolerability in chronic pain states. This review provides an update on the physiological properties and functions of alpha 3 subtype GlyRs and related drug discovery programs.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maria M. Cobo, Gabrielle Green, Foteini Andritsou, Luke Baxter, Ria Evans Fry, Annika Grabbe, Deniz Gursul, Amy Hoskin, Gabriela Schmidt Mellado, Marianne van der Vaart, Eleri Adams, Aomesh Bhatt, Franziska Denk, Caroline Hartley, Rebeccah Slater
Summary: The relationship between immune function, pain sensitivity, and early life inflammation is not well understood in humans. This study found that neonatal inflammation is associated with increased spinal cord excitability and evoked brain activity following tactile and noxious stimulation. These findings suggest that hyperalgesia may persist post-inflammation, supporting previous research on immune dysfunction and pain sensitivity in adults.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Anesthesiology
Lou Cathenaut, Remy Schlichter, Sylvain Hugel
Summary: Somatosensory information is efficiently processed in the spinal cord by frequency-tuned synapses, which display activity-dependent forms of short-term plasticity. These properties allow for powerful gain control in neuronal networks and contribute to the integration of nociceptive messages and the effectiveness of nonpharmacological analgesic procedures.
Article
Neurosciences
Jesse K. Niehaus, Bonnie Taylor-Blake, Lipin Loo, Jeremy M. Simon, Mark J. Zylka
Summary: Peripheral nerve injury leads to long-term pro-inflammatory responses in spinal cord glial cells, but the identity of endogenous cells that resolve spinal inflammation has not been determined. Our study demonstrates that MRC1(+) spinal cord macrophages actively restrain glia to limit neuroinflammation and resolve mechanical pain following superficial injury, suggesting that therapeutic modulation of spinal macrophages could promote long-lasting recovery of neuropathic pain.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Britta Matusche, Ludmila Litvin, Ruth Schneider, Barbara Bellenberg, Mark Muehlau, Viola Pongratz, Achim Berthele, Sergiu Groppa, Muthuraman Muthuraman, Frauke Zipp, Friedemann Paul, Heinz Wiendl, Sven G. Meuth, Philipp Saemann, Frank Weber, Ralf A. Linker, Tania Kuempfel, Ralf Gold, Carsten Lukas
Summary: The aim of this study was to analyze the extent of pseudoatrophy in the upper spinal cord during the first 2 years after therapy initiation and compare this to the brain. The results suggest that pseudoatrophy occurs not only in the brain, but also in the spinal cord during the first year of interferon-beta treatment.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeonghoon Oh, Alexander G. Steele, Blesson Varghese, Catherine A. Martin, Michelle S. Scheffler, Rachel L. Markley, Yi-Kai Lo, Dimitry G. Sayenko
Summary: Transcutaneous spinal stimulation is a promising method for restoring upper limb function in patients with spinal cord injuries. By selectively stimulating different electrode placements, specific groups of upper limb muscles can be activated. This approach may enhance efficacy and help patients recover more diverse motor activities.
Article
Anesthesiology
Lou Cathenaut, Benjamin Leonardon, Robin Kuster, Perrine Inquimbert, Remy Schlichter, Sylvain Hugel
Summary: The networks in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord play a crucial role in processing nociceptive information and shaping pain perception. Short-term plasticity of inhibitory connections, particularly in lamina II, can modulate the balance between excitation and inhibition, thus influencing pain transmission. This study showed that GABAergic interneurons in lamina II had target-specific and frequency-specific plasticity, with connections onto eGFP+ (putative excitatory) interneurons showing frequency-dependent depression and connections onto eGFP- (putative inhibitory) interneurons displaying limited frequency-dependent changes. These findings suggest that the modulation of inhibitory connections may be a potential target for pain relief strategies.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Sreenath P. Kyathanahally, Michela Azzarito, Jan Rosner, Vince D. Calhoun, Claudia Blaiotta, John Ashburner, Nikolaus Weiskopf, Katja Wiech, Karl Friston, Gabriel Ziegler, Patrick Freund
Summary: This study tracked the structural changes in nociceptive pathways after spinal cord injury and their relationship to neuropathic pain intensity. Results showed differences in structural parameters in specific brain and spinal cord regions of individuals with neuropathic pain, indicating a critical role of microstructural changes in neuropathic pain maintenance.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Maria F. Bandres, Jefferson L. Gomes, Jacob G. McPherson
Summary: We found that motor-targeted spinal stimulation can modulate spinal nociceptive transmission, suggesting its potential for neuropathic pain-related applications and its ability to provide multi-modal therapeutic benefits for individuals living with SCI.
JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Review
Pediatrics
Anne R. de Kort, Elbert A. J. Joosten, Jacob Patijn, Dick Tibboel, Nynke J. van den Hoogen
Summary: The nociceptive network is not fully developed at birth and descending serotonergic modulation switches from facilitation in early life to bimodal control in adulthood. A functional inhibitory serotonergic system already exists in the neonatal phase but is masked by descending facilitation.
PEDIATRIC RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Xuetao Qi, Kun Cui, Yu Zhang, Linshu Wang, Jifu Tong, Weiqi Sun, Shan Shao, Jiaxin Wang, Cheng Wang, Xiaoyan Sun, Liming Xiao, Ke Xi, Shuang Cui, Fengyu Liu, Longyu Ma, Jie Zheng, Ming Yi, You Wan
Summary: Pain chronicity involves neuroplastic alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The study identifies a specific nociceptive neuronal ensemble in the dorsome-dial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) that is involved in processing nociceptive information and regulating pain chronicity.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Arsentii Ivasiuk, Maksym Matvieienko, Nikolai I. Kononenko, Dmytro E. Duzhyy, Sergiy M. Korogod, Nana Voitenko, Pavel Belan
Summary: The upregulation of T-type Ca2+ channels in nociceptive DRG neurons in peripheral diabetic neuropathy is associated with the development of pain symptoms, and this mechanism may underlie abnormal nociception in diabetes.
Article
Neurosciences
Vincent Huynh, Robin Lutolf, Jan Rosner, Roger Luechinger, Armin Curt, Spyridon Kollias, Michele Hubli, Lars Michels
Summary: Neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury involves plastic changes along the whole neuroaxis, with current neuroimaging studies showing a relationship between pain intensity and grey matter volume and connectivity changes. The underlying neural processes related to pain extent in neuropathic pain are still unknown.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2021)
Review
Pediatrics
Christopher Eccleston, Emma Fisher, Richard F. Howard, Rebeccah Slater, Paula Forgeron, Tonya M. Palermo, Kathryn A. Birnie, Brian J. Anderson, Christine T. Chambers, Geert Crombez, Gustaf Ljungman, Isabel Jordan, Zachary Jordan, Caitriona Roberts, Neil Schechter, Christine B. Sieberg, Dick Tibboel, Suellen M. Walker, Dominic Wilkinson, Chantal Wood
LANCET CHILD & ADOLESCENT HEALTH
(2021)
Letter
Anesthesiology
Caroline Hartley, Luke Baxter, Fiona Moultrie, Ryan Purdy, Aomesh Bhatt, Richard Rogers, Chetan Patel, Eleri Adams, Rebeccah Slater
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIA
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Marianne van der Vaart, Caroline Hartley, Luke Baxter, Gabriela Schmidt Mellado, Foteini Andritsou, Maria M. Cobo, Ria Evans Fry, Eleri Adams, Sean Fitzgibbon, Rebeccah Slater
Summary: The study found that heart rate responses increase with age, and noxious-evoked brain activity undergoes three developmental stages, including a previously unreported transitory stage. Additionally, infant responses to noxious and nonnoxious stimuli are discriminable in prematurity.
Article
Neuroimaging
Gabriela Schmidt Mellado, Kirubin Pillay, Eleri Adams, Ana Alarcon, Foteini Andritsou, Maria M. Cobo, Ria Evans Fry, Sean Fitzgibbon, Fiona Moultrie, Luke Baxter, Rebeccah Slater
Summary: This study investigates the impact of prematurity on neurodevelopment in infants, finding that premature birth may accelerate maturation of the visual and tactile sensory systems. By analyzing evoked responses in infants using EEG and comparing different groups of infants, it was observed that visual and tactile response template magnitudes differ between premature and late preterm infants.
NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maria M. Cobo, Gabrielle Green, Foteini Andritsou, Luke Baxter, Ria Evans Fry, Annika Grabbe, Deniz Gursul, Amy Hoskin, Gabriela Schmidt Mellado, Marianne van der Vaart, Eleri Adams, Aomesh Bhatt, Franziska Denk, Caroline Hartley, Rebeccah Slater
Summary: The relationship between immune function, pain sensitivity, and early life inflammation is not well understood in humans. This study found that neonatal inflammation is associated with increased spinal cord excitability and evoked brain activity following tactile and noxious stimulation. These findings suggest that hyperalgesia may persist post-inflammation, supporting previous research on immune dysfunction and pain sensitivity in adults.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Maria M. Cobo, Fiona Moultrie, Annalisa G. Hauck, Daniel Crankshaw, Vaneesha Monk, Caroline Hartley, Ria Evans Fry, Shellie Robinson, Marianne van der Vaart, Luke Baxter, Eleri Adams, Ravi Poorun, Aomesh Bhatt, Rebeccah Slater
Summary: This study aims to examine whether parental touch prior to a painful clinical procedure provides effective pain relief in neonates and assess the outcomes through various measures. If the parental tactile intervention is proven effective, recommendations will be made for clinical guideline adoption.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shaun Warrington, Elinor Thompson, Matteo Bastiani, Jessica Dubois, Luke Baxter, Rebeccah Slater, Saad Jbabdi, Rogier B. Mars, Stamatios N. Sotiropoulos
Summary: This study proposes a novel framework that integrates structural connectivity maps from humans and nonhuman primates onto a common space, allowing the study of divergences and similarities in connectivity over evolutionary and developmental scales to reveal brain maturation trajectories.
Article
Pediatrics
Jarinda A. Poppe, Sean P. Fitzgibbon, H. Rob Taal, Sjoukje E. Loudon, Angela M. Tjiam, Charles C. Roehr, Irwin K. M. Reiss, Sinno H. P. Simons, Caroline Hartley
Summary: This study examines the ability of physiological data during the first postnatal month to predict laser treatment for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm infants. The results show that physiological data already have predictive accuracy, but further validation is needed. These findings suggest the potential of physiological data for future ROP prediction and early interventions to protect infants from abnormal retinal development.
PEDIATRIC RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alan Worley, Kirubin Pillay, Maria M. Cobo, Gabriela Schmidt Mellado, Marianne van der Vaart, Aomesh Bhatt, Caroline Hartley
Summary: Recording multimodal responses to sensory stimuli in infants allows for a comprehensive investigation of the developing nervous system. Accurate time-locking across modalities is crucial for correct interpretation and can improve clinical care through automatic and objective pain assessment.