Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Szu-Han Chen, Chia-Ching Wu, Sheng-Che Lin, Wan-Ling Tseng, Tzu-Chieh Huang, Anjali Yadav, Fu- Lu, Ya-Hsin Liu, Shau-Ping Lin, Yuan-Yu Hsueh
Summary: Peripheral compressive neuropathy causes significant neuropathic pain, muscle weakness, and prolonged neuroinflammation. The gold standard treatment of surgical decompression has suboptimal outcomes with a high recurrence rate. The study highlights the need for further research on distinct neuropathologic patterns and genetic signatures after nerve decompression for improved therapeutic interventions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Anesthesiology
Chi-Chao Chao, Ming-Tsung Tseng, Yea-Huey Lin, Paul-Chen Hsieh, Chien-Ho (Janice) Lin, Shin-Leh Huang, Sung-Tsang Hsieh, Ming-Chang Chiang
Summary: Patients with SFN showed reduced white matter connectivity with pain-related brain areas, with the degree of skin nerve degeneration correlated with different neuropathic pain phenotypes. Despite altered connectivity, there was no change in white matter integrity as assessed by fractional anisotropy. Our findings suggest that changes in structural connectivity may serve as a biomarker of maladaptive brain plasticity contributing to neuropathic pain following peripheral nerve degeneration.
Article
Plant Sciences
Ananya Buapratoom, Aree Wanasuntronwong, Onrawee Khongsombat, Mayuree H. Tantisira
Summary: ECa 233 showed anti-nociceptive effects on chronic neuropathic orofacial pain in mice by modulating peripheral calcitonin gen-related peptide expression, which decreased nociceptive activity in trigeminal nucleus caudalis. This study also found a synergistic effect of ECa 233 with gabapentin, reducing mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia in mice. Further clinical trials are needed to explore the efficacy of ECa 233 in treating neuropathic pain in humans.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kuang- Cheng, Yu-Chin Chang, Li-Wen Chu, Su-Ling Hsieh, Li-Mei An, Zen-Kong Dai, Bin-Nan Wu
Summary: Loganin exerts neuroprotective effects by modulating the autophagic-lysosomal pathway, alleviating neuropathic pain caused by chronic constriction injury (CCI). This finding provides a potential target for preventing neuropathic pain.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Anesthesiology
Michael Fetell, Manon Sendel, Thomas Li, Leslie Marinelli, Jan Vollert, Elizaeth Ruggerio, George Houk, Marilyn Dockum, Phillip J. Albrecht, Frank L. Rice, Ralf Baron
Summary: Skin biopsies from patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) showed no correlation between nerve fiber density and baseline pain, and concurrent loss of nerve fibers on the affected side was common. The role of Nav1.7 in PHN pain is still unclear.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Can Ebru Bekircan-Kurt, Javid Jahanroshan, Asli Tuncer, Zeynep Ergul-Ulger, Gursel Gunes, Sevim Erdem-Ozdamar, Ersin Tan
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the small fiber loss and its length dependency in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Skin biopsy samples from MS patients showed lower proximal intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) compared to healthy controls, but no significant difference in distal IENFD. There was no apparent difference between MS patients with and without neuropathic pain. These findings suggest the presence of non-length dependent small fiber neuropathy in MS patients.
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND RELATED DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Nathan T. Fiore, Zhuoran Yin, Dilansu Guneykaya, Christian D. Gauthier, Jessica Hayes, Aaron D'Hary, Oleg Butovsky, Gila Moalem-Taylor
Summary: Neuropathic pain is associated with the activation of glial cells, particularly microglia, in the central nervous system. This study found that microglia play a sexually dimorphic role in neuropathic pain in rodent models. Analysis of microglial gene expression revealed no common transcriptional changes in different neuropathic models, but a significant change was observed in the lumbar spinal cord after chronic constriction injury. Furthermore, male microglia from nerve-injured mice showed a unique transcriptional signature and increased phagocytotic activity. These findings suggest that spinal microglia contribute to sex-specific pain processing following nerve injury.
Article
Neurosciences
Franziska Karl-Schoeller, Meik Kunz, Luisa Kress, Melissa Held, Nadine Egenolf, Anna Wiesner, Thomas Dandekar, Claudia Sommer, Nurcan Ueceyler
Summary: Neuropathic pain is common in peripheral neuropathy patients, and the study investigated the role of miR-21 in this pain. Inhibition of miR-21-5p reversed mechanical and heat hypersensitivity in mice with nerve injury, leading to a decrease in pro-inflammatory mediators. The study also found different expression patterns of miR-21-5p and pro-inflammatory mediators in human patients with neuropathic pain syndromes.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Standiford Helm, Nikita Shirsat, Aaron Calodney, Alaa Abd-Elsayed, David Kloth, Amol Soin, Shalini Shah, Andrea Trescot
Summary: PNS shows level II evidence for treating refractory peripheral nerve injury and level III evidence for certain other pain conditions. The risk of adverse events with PNS is generally low compared to spinal cord stimulation. However, there is a lack of literature on certain indications for PNS treatment.
Article
Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine
Hye-Kyoung Kim, Mee-Eun Kim
Summary: Three heat and cold pain phenotypes were identified in patients with unilateral trigeminal nerve injury, with heat hypoalgesia being more common than heat hyperalgesia. Heat hypoalgesia was associated with subjective negative symptoms, while thermal hyperalgesia showed little relationship with negative and positive symptoms. The cold pain phenotypes differed between inferior alveolar nerve and lingual nerve injuries.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Karin N. Westlund, Marena A. Montera, Aleyah E. Goins, Sascha R. A. Alles, Nikita Suri, Sabrina L. McIlwrath, Robyn Bartel, Ravi V. Durvasula, Adinarayana Kunamneni
Summary: Non-opioid engineered scFv antibodies targeting the P2X4R receptor show potential as biotherapeutic interventions for chronic pain, with enhanced binding affinity and tissue penetrability leading to persistent pain relief in animal models.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Olga A. A. Korczeniewska, Divya Kohli, Rafael Benoliel, Sita Mahalakshmi Baddireddy, Eli Eliav
Summary: This article reviews the common causes and clinical features of post-traumatic trigeminal neuropathic pain. Both peripheral and central nervous system processes are involved in the pathophysiology of pain following nerve injuries, and they often depend on each other. This article focuses on the peripheral events contributing to the pathophysiology of pain, and future research may lead to the development of new therapeutic modalities.
Article
Surgery
Kevin M. Klifto, Pooja S. Yesantharao, Scott D. Lifchez, A. Lee Dellon, C. Scott Hultman
Summary: The study developed a mathematical model based on anatomy-specific variables to predict a patient's risk of developing burn-related nerve pain. The model included 8 variables and identified risk factors for burn-related nerve pain at 11 anatomical locations.
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
(2021)
Article
Anesthesiology
Qi-Yuan Bao, Pei-Ching Chang, Maria Virginia Centeno, Melissa A. Farmer, Marwan Baliki, Daniel Procissi, Weibin Zhang, A. Vania Apkarian
Summary: Following surgical repair after peripheral nerve injury, neuropathic pain diminishes in most patients but can persist in a small proportion of cases, the mechanism of which remains poorly understood. A rat nerve repair model was used to study the role of brain circuitry in the reversal of neuropathic pain.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ayse Nur Oezdag Acarli, Thomas Klein, Nadine Egenolf, Claudia Sommer, Nurcan Ueceyler
Summary: Dermal Schwann cell counts are lower in patients with SFN and correlate with the clinical phenotype.
Article
Anesthesiology
Mark Schnakenberg, Christian Thomas, Martin Schmelz, Roman Rukwied
Summary: The study demonstrated that NGF-induced sensitization of human skin to electrical and mechanical stimuli is primarily driven by C-nociceptors with little contribution from A-delta fibers. The less pronounced accommodation during ongoing sinusoidal stimulation suggests that NGF could facilitate axonal spike generation and conduction in primary afferent nociceptors in humans. Further studies using this sinusoidal electrical stimulation profile may allow localized assessment of skin C-nociceptors and their putative excitability changes under pathologic conditions.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PAIN
(2021)
Editorial Material
Anesthesiology
Martin Schmelz
Article
Neurosciences
Fiona Werland, Michael Hirth, Roman Rukwied, Matthias Ringkamp, Brian Turnquist, Ellen Jorum, Barbara Namer, Martin Schmelz, Otilia Obreja
Summary: Through extracellular single-fibre recordings in pigs, it was found that nerve growth factor can increase the peak following frequency specifically in sensitized mechano-insensitive nociceptors, while having minimal impact on other types of nociceptors.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
(2021)
Article
Anesthesiology
Kiran Kumar Bali, Jagadeesh Gandla, Daniel Rojas Rangel, Laura Castaldi, Peter Mouritzen, Nitin Agarwal, Martin Schmelz, Paul Heppenstall, Rohini Kuner
Summary: The study suggests that epigenetic modulation in the form of microRNA (miRNA) expression triggered by metabolic imbalance and nerve damage may regulate the development of pain in painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. miR-33 and miR-380 expressed in nociceptive neurons are identified as critical factors in diabetic pain, while miR-124-1 is implicated as a mediator of physiological nociception.
Article
Anesthesiology
Fiona Werland, Roberto de Col, Michael Hirth, Brian Turnquist, Martin Schmelz, Otilia Obreja
Summary: UVB irradiation induces mechanical sensitization of primary nociceptors, contributing to primary hyperalgesia, while different responses in nociceptors and mechanosensitive neurons suggest complex mechanisms underlying abnormal pain after sunburn.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Emanuel Fryk, Josefin Olausson, Karin Mossberg, Lena Strindberg, Martin Schmelz, Helen Brogren, Li-Ming Gan, Silvano Piazza, Alessandro Provenzani, Barbara Becattini, Lars Lind, Giovanni Solinas, Per-Anders Jansson
Summary: The study suggests that in obese individuals, hyperinsulinemia is mainly caused by elevated free fatty acids, which is a significant factor in the development of insulin resistance in obesity. Additionally, obese subjects with normal glycemia do not show significant differences in lipolysis compared to lean individuals.
Letter
Anesthesiology
Martin Schmelz
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Martin Schmelz
Summary: Recent research findings challenge the traditional view of itch mechanistic theories as mutually exclusive, suggesting that a combination of factors such as neuronal specificity, temporal patterns, and spatial aspects play a role in itch sensation. Understanding the blend of these factors could provide better insights into chronic itch and improve treatment options.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Veronica Bonalume, Lucia Caffino, Luca F. Castelnovo, Alessandro Faroni, Sheng Liu, Jing Hu, Marco Milanese, Giambattista Bonanno, Kyra Sohns, Tal Hoffmann, Roberto De Col, Martin Schmelz, Fabio Fumagalli, Valerio Magnaghi, Richard Carr
Summary: The study shows that GABA depolarizes sural nerve axons and increases the electrical excitability of C-fibres via GABA(A) receptor. NKCC1 plays a role in maintaining intra-axonal chloride to stabilize C-fibre excitability. Activation of GABA(A) receptor can stabilize C-fibre excitability during sustained firing.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Lars Kristian Lunden, Inge Petter Kleggetveit, Martin Schmelz, Ellen Jorum
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the differences in pain characteristics among subgroups of CRPS patients based on quantitative sensory testing (QST) results. Three subgroups were identified based on thermal thresholds, and the presence of thermal allodynia was associated with a higher prevalence of paroxysmal pain. The study suggests that cold allodynia may be related to hyper-excitability of superficial skin nociceptors, and small fiber degeneration alone may not explain the pain mechanism in CRPS.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PAIN
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Manuel Pedro Pereira, Martin Schmelz, Sonja Staender
Summary: Neuropathic pruritus conditions result from damage to the nervous system, and novel findings strengthen the specificity theory of pruritus transmission. Activation of nociceptors and specific discharge patterns of primary afferents also contribute to itch development. Interactions between excitatory and inhibitory interneurons, non-neuronal cells, and descending modulation from upper centers contribute to neuronal sensitization, leading to chronic itch and accompanying phenomena.
CURRENT OPINION IN NEUROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Dermatology
M. Dehghan Nayyeri, M. Missler, R. Ritterbach, B. Sundermann, N. Wulms, A. Sueer, M. Dugas, M. P. Pereira, S. Staender, M. Schmelz, B. Pfleiderer
Summary: This study found decreased functional connectivity within the DMN in patients with BRP during rest. In contrast, there were no significant differences in functional connectivity at rest between AD patients and healthy controls.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY AND VENEREOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Dermatology
Konstantin Agelopoulos, Lina Renkhold, Henning Wiegmann, Martin Dugas, Aysenur Suer, Claudia Zeidler, Martin Schmelz, Manuel P. Pereira, Sonja Staender
Summary: This study aimed to link gene expression, DNA methylation, and neuroanatomy in different chronic pruritis conditions. Results showed that specific signatures of gene expression and DNA methylation distinguished pruritic lesional skin from nonpruritic skin and healthy skin. Neuroanatomy analysis revealed differential branching patterns among the different conditions, indicating that chronic itching conditions are primarily caused by nerve injury and subsequent sprouting, while genuine neuropathy is expected in brachioradial pruritus.
JOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE DERMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Martin Schmelz
Summary: Quantitative sensory testing (QST) has been optimized for diagnosing small fiber neuropathy, but current sensory phenotypes cannot successfully stratify neuropathy patients with and without pain.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PAIN
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael Neumaier, Sophie Giesler, Volker Ast, Mathis Roemer, Timo-Daniel Voss, Eileen Reinz, Victor Costina, Martin Schmelz, Elina Nuernberg, Stefanie Nittka, Aino-Maija Leppae, Ruediger Rudolf, Andreas Trumpp, Tina Fuchs
Summary: This report introduces a new class of innate immune cells, called VIREMs, which are myeloid cells unrelated to lymphocytes. The researchers found that B-VIREMs, a subtype of VIREMs, have the ability to genetically recombine and express antibody genes, similar to B lymphocytes. They also discovered that B-VIREMs circulate in the blood of healthy individuals and undergo clonal expansion in response to disease stimuli. Live-cell imaging models suggest that B-VIREMs load their own Fc receptors with endogenous antibodies during vesicle transport. The findings suggest that these innate immune cells have important antigen-specific tissue maintenance functions.
Article
Neurosciences
Wenzhu Wang, Zihan Li, Yitong Yan, Shuo Wu, Xinyu Yao, Chen Gao, Lanxiang Liu, Yan Yu
Summary: This study investigated the reparative mechanisms of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and found that LIPUS promotes hippocampal neurogenesis, enhances neural electrical activity and neural plasticity, ultimately restoring neuronal function and cognitive capabilities in TBI mice.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Wenmin Yi, Fei Chen, Minghao Yuan, Chuanling Wang, Shengyuan Wang, Jie Wen, Qian Zou, Yinshuang Pu, Zhiyou Cai
Summary: The study suggests that a high-fat diet may lead to tau hyperphosphorylation and synaptic dysfunction by inhibiting the SIRT1/AMPK pathway and disrupting autophagy flux, ultimately resulting in cognitive decline.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Kim M. Hemsley, Helen Beard, Glyn Chidlow, Teresa Mammone, Leanne K. Winner, Daniel Neumann, Barbara King, Marten F. Snel, Paul J. Trim, Robert J. Casson
Summary: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive method that can be used to rapidly and quantitatively examine the integrity of the neuroretina. It has been shown that OCT can be used to observe retinal thinning in patients with childhood dementia, and to assess the improvement of retinal structure after treatment. Furthermore, OCT can provide insights into other childhood dementias based on the correlation between retinal and brain degeneration in Sanfilippo syndrome.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Qianling Jiang, Xin Ma, Gaochen Zhu, Wen Si, Lingyu He, Guan Yang
Summary: This study investigated the effects of EAE induction on thymopoiesis and T cell development, revealing changes such as increased apoptosis, decreased proliferation, and a blockade in the transition from double-negative thymocytes to double-positive cells. It was also found that positive selection was disrupted in the thymus of EAE mice, along with an increased production of regulatory T cells.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Alice McDouall, Guido Wassink, Sumudu Ranasinghe, Kelly Q. Zhou, Rashika N. Karunasinghe, Justin M. Dean, Joanne O. Davidson
Summary: This study found that blocking connexin 43 hemichannels can attenuate brain injury and promote neurodevelopment in infants with mild hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, without causing hypothermia.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Hannah Sweetman, Mahmudur Rahman, Aditya Vedantam, Kajana Satkunendrarajah
Summary: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a neurological condition characterized by chronic compression of the cervical spinal cord, leading to impaired limb function. While respiratory dysfunction is not a common symptom of DCM, it can affect the ventilatory response to respiratory challenges. Surgical decompression improves sensorimotor function in DCM, but its impact on respiratory function is unclear. This study evaluates respiratory function and adaptive ventilation in a DCM model, showing that DCM impairs acute adaptive ventilatory ability and surgical decompression does not fully restore it.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Chengmei Sun, Muhammad Saif Ur Rahman, Budbazar Enkhjargal, Jianhua Peng, Keren Zhou, Zhiyi Xie, Lingyun Wu, Tongyu Zhang, Qiquan Zhu, Jiping Tang, Yujia Zeng, John H. Zhang, Shanshan Xu
Summary: This study found that Osteopontin (OPN) can attenuate inflammatory responses after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) by promoting an anti-inflammatory microglial state. This effect may be mediated through the integrin-FAK-STAT3 and NF-kappa B signaling pathways.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Yang Yang, Xuezhu Chen, Chuanyan Yang, Mei Liu, Qianying Huang, Likun Yang, Yuhai Wang, Hua Feng, Zhongyang Gao, Tunan Chen
Summary: The study explores the effects of specific chemogenetic stimulation of intact corticospinal tract on functional recovery after stroke in mice. The findings demonstrate that combining chemogenetic activation with rehabilitation training leads to significant motor functional recovery by promoting axon sprouting and rewiring new functional circuits.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2024)
