Curcumin Attenuates Chronic Constriction Nerve Injury-Induced Neuropathic Pain in Rats

Curcumin의 신경병증성 통증 억제효과

  • Kim, Chae-Eun (Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Park, Eun-Sung (Department of Biochemistry, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Jeon, Young-Hoon (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital)
  • 김채은 (경북대학교 식품영양학과) ;
  • 박은성 (경북대학교 치과전문대학원 구강생리학과) ;
  • 전영훈 (경북대학교병원 마취통증의학과)
  • Published : 2008.06.30

Abstract

Nerve injury can lead to neuropathic pain, which is often resistant to current analgesics and interventional therapeutic methods. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) plays important role in the induction of neuropathic pain. We explored the antinociceptive effect of curcumin and its effect on ERK in the spinal cord in the neuropathic pain model of rats induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve. In injured rats, mechanical allodynia, which is one of characteristics of neuropathic pain developed and the activation of ERK in spinal cord significantly increased compared with control group. However, administration of curcumin (50 mg/kg/day p.o) for 7 days started from one day before the injury prevented the development of mechanical allodynia and increase of ERK phosphorylation. These results indicate that curcumin can be a new therapeutic agent in the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Keywords

References

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