• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.206-209
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• 2009

Background: The essential oil of Ocimum basilicum (EOOB) has a pleasant aroma and is known to have antimicrobial and insecticidal activities. In addition, it is used as a pain reliever in folk medicine. However, there are few reports on the antinociceptive activities of EOOB. Methods: This study examined the antinociceptive effects of EOOB using formalin and a plantar test in mice. In the formalin test, EOOB (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally and the licking time of the mice was measured. In the plantar test, intraperitoneal EOOB (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg) was administered and the withdrawal latency was measured using the Hargreaves method. Results: In the formalin test, EOOB (50 mg/kg, IP) showed significant decreases in licking time in the second phase. On the other hand, in the plantar test, there were no significant effects in any of the groups examined. Conclusions: These results support the traditional use of EOOB for the treatment of painful conditions. However, there is a need for more research to determine the active chemical constituents and the precise mechanism.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.441-449
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• 2023

Background: Hypertonic saline is used for treating chronic pain; however, clinical studies that aid in optimizing therapeutic protocols are lacking. We aimed to determine the concentration of intrathecally injected hypertonic saline at which the effect reaches its peak as well as the underlying γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor-related antinociceptive mechanism. Methods: Spinal nerve ligation (SNL; left L5 and L6) was performed to induce neuropathic pain in rats weighing 250-300 g. Experiment 1: one week after implanting the intrathecal catheter, 60 rats were assigned randomly to intrathecal injection with 0.45%, 0.9%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, and 20% NaCl, followed by behavioral testing at baseline and after 30 minutes, 2 hours, 1 day, and 1 week to determine the minimal concentration which produced maximal analgesia. Experiment 2: after determining the optimal intrathecal hypertonic saline concentration, 60 rats were randomly divided into four groups: Sham, hypertonic saline without pretreatment, and hypertonic saline after pretreatment with one of two GABA receptor antagonists (GABA_A [bicuculline], or GABA_B [phaclofen]). Behavioral tests were performed at weeks 1 and 3 following each treatment. Results: Hypertonic saline at concentrations greater than 5% alleviated SNL-induced mechanical allodynia and had a significant therapeutic effect, while showing a partial time- and dose-dependent antinociceptive effect on thermal and cold hyperalgesia. However, pretreatment with GABA receptor antagonists inhibited the antinociceptive effect of 5% NaCl. Conclusions: This study indicates that the optimal concentration of hypertonic saline for controlling mechanical allodynia in neuropathic pain is 5%, and that its analgesic effect is related to GABA_A and GABA_B receptors.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.93-95
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• 1997

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the mechanism of action of DA-5018 and to compare it with those of capasaicin, resiniferatoxin (ultrapotent capasaicin analog), and olvanil (systemic antinociceptive agent equipotent with capasaicin developed by Proctor & Gamble) (fig.1).

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.39-46
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• 2008

Background : Acupuncture has been used as a clinical treatment in Oriental medicine for various diseases including pain relief. The descending pain control system of periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a powerful pain control system in mammalians. Expression of c-Fos is used as a marker for stimuli-induced metabolic changes of neurons. Objective : In the present study, the effects of acupuncture on analgesic effect in visceral pain were investigated through the writhing reflex and c-Fos expression in ventrolateral PAG (vlPAG) area using immunohistochemistry in mice. Method : For the writhing test, mice were divided into five groups. Immediately after finishing the behavioral test, the animals were weighed and overdosed with Zoletil. After a complete lack of response was observed, the brains of the mice were dissected into serial coronal sections, and c-Fos immunohistochemistry was performed. Statistical analysis of all data was performed using one-way ANOVA. Result : The present results showed that acupuncture affected the writhing reflex and that Choksamni (zusnali) acupoint and aspirin significantlysuppressed acetic acid treatment-induced increased writhing reflex, and the expression of c-Fos in vlPAG was significantly increased in the acupunctured group. Conclusion : The present study suggests that acupuncture has an antinociceptive effect on acetic acid-induced visceral pain by increase of c-Fos expression in mice. Aspirin also showed analgesic effect, however the mechanism is different from the acupuncture.

• 한국응용약물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국응용약물학회 1994년도 춘계학술대회 and 제3회 신약개발 연구발표회
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• pp.294-294
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• 1994

To investigate analgesic mechanism of capsaicin and its analogues (capsaicinoids), release of adenosine was measured by high performance liquid chromatography from dorsal spinal cord synaptosomes, Exposure of synaptosomes to K$\^$+/ and morphine produced a dose dependent release of adenosine in the presence of Ca$\^$++/. Capsaicin (0.1, 1, 10 M), and its analogues 6-paradol (1, 10 M), NE-19550 (1, 10, 100 M), DMNE (1, 10, 100 M) and KR 25018 (0.1, 1, 10 M) produced a dose dependent release of adenosine in the presence of Ca$\^$++/. Nifedipine, L-type voltage sensitive calcium channel blocker, inhibited K$\^$+/ (6, 12 mM)- and morphine (10 M)-evoked release of adenosine completely, but inhibited capsaicin, and capsaicinoids-evoked release of adenosine partially. Capsazepine, a novel capsaicin select ive antagonist, blocked only capsaicin and capsaicinoids induced release of adenosine. Therefore, the adenosine release by capsaicin and capsaicinoids having antinociceptive effects involve activation of capsaicin specific receptor and capsaicin sensitive Ca$\^$++/ channel.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.99-106
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• 2005

Background: Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and opioid receptors are involved in the modulation of nociception. Although the opioid receptors agonists are active in pain, the effect of an phospodiesterase inhibitor (zaprinast) for increasing the level of cGMP has not been thoroughly investigated at the spinal level. This study examined the effects of intrathecal zaprinast and morphine in a nociceptive test and we also examined the nature of the pharmacological interaction after the coadministration of zaprinast with morphine. The role of the nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP-potassium channel pathway on the effect of zaprinast was further clarified. Methods: Catheters were inserted into the intrathecal space of male SD rats. For the induction of pain, $50{\mu}l$ of 5% formalin solution was applied to the hindpaw. Isobolographic analysis was used for the evaluation of the drug interaction between zaprinast and morphine. Furthermore, NO synthase inhibitor ($_L-NMMA$), guanylyl cyclase inhibitor (ODQ) or a potassium channel blocker (glibenclamide) were intrathecally administered to verify the involvement of the NO-cGMP- potassium channel pathway on the antinociception effect of zaprinast. Results: Both zaprinast and morphine produced an antinociceptive effect during phase 1 and phase 2 in the formalin test. Isobolographic analysis revealed a synergistic interaction after the intrathecal administration of the zaprinast-morphine mixture in both phases. Intrathecal $_L-NMMA$, ODQ and glibenclamide did not reverse the antinociception of zaprinast in either phase. Conclusions: These results suggest that zaprinast, morphine and the mixture of the two drugs are effective against acute pain and they facilitated pain state at the spinal level. Thus, the spinal combination of zaprinast with morphine may be useful for the management of pain. However, the NO-sensitive cGMP-potassium channel pathway did not contribute to the antinocieptive mechanism of zaprinast in the spinal cord.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제13권5호
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• pp.379-383
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• 2009

Nitric oxide (NO), a diffusible gas, is produced in the central nervous system, including the spinal cord dorsal horn and the trigeminal nucleus, the first central areas processing nociceptive information from periphery. In the spinal cord, it has been demonstrated that NO acts as pronociceptive or antinociceptive mediators, apparently in a concentration-dependent manner. However, the central role of NO in the trigeminal nucleus remains uncertain in support of processing the orofacial nociception. Thus, we here investigated the central role of NO in formalin (3%)-induced orofacial pain in rats by administering membrane-permeable or -impermeable inhibitors, relating to the NO signaling pathways, into intracisternal space. The intracisternal pretreatments with the NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME, the NO-sensitive guanylate cyclase inhibitor ODQ, and the protein kinase C inhibitor GF109203X, all of which are permeable to the cell membrane, significantly reduced the formalin-induced pain, whereas the membrane-impermeable NO scavenger PTIO significantly enhanced it, compared to vehicle controls. These data suggest that an overall effect of NO production in the trigeminal nucleus is pronociceptive, but NO extracellularly diffused out of its producing neurons would have an antinociceptive action.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.143-150
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• 2019

Chronic neuropathic pain is one of the primary causes of disability subsequent to spinal cord injury. Patients experiencing neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury suffer from poor quality of life, so complementary therapy is seriously needed. Dehydrocorybulbine is an alkaloid extracted from Corydalis yanhusuo. It effectively alleviates neuropathic pain. In the present study, we explored the effect of dehydrocorybulbine on neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury and delineated its possible mechanism. Experiments were performed in rats to evaluate the contribution of dehydrocorybulbine to P2X4 signaling in the modulation of pain-related behaviors and the levels of pronociceptive interleukins and proteins after spinal cord injury. In a rat contusion injury model, we confirmed that chronic neuropathic pain is present on day 7 after spinal cord injury and P2X4R expression is exacerbated after spinal cord injury. We also found that administration of dehydrocorybulbine by tail vein injection relieved pain behaviors in rat contusion injury models without affecting motor functions. The elevation in the levels of pronociceptive interleukins ($IL-1{\beta}$, IL-18, MMP-9) after spinal cord injury was mitigated by dehydrocorybulbine. Dehydrocorybulbine significantly mitigated the upregulation of P2X4 receptor and reduced ATP-evoked intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. Both P2XR and dopamine receptor2 agonists antagonized dehydrocorybulbine's antinociceptive effects. In conclusion, we propose that dehydrocorybulbine produces antinociceptive effects in spinal cord injury models by inhibiting P2X4R.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제35권3호
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• pp.271-279
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• 2022

Background: Inflammation is known to underlie the pathogenesis in neuropathic pain. This study investigated the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective mechanisms involved in antinociceptive effects of co-administration of acetaminophen and L-carnosine in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced peripheral neuropathy in male Wistar rats. Methods: Fifty-six male Wistar rats were randomly divided into seven experimental groups (n = 8) treated with normal saline/acetaminophen/acetaminophen + L-carnosine. CCI was used to induce neuropathic pain in rats. Hyperalgesia and allodynia were assessed using hotplate and von Frey tests, respectively. Investigation of spinal proinflammatory cytokines and antioxidant system were carried out after twenty-one days of treatment. Results: The results showed that the co-administration of acetaminophen and L-carnosine significantly (P < 0.001) increased the paw withdrawal threshold to thermal and mechanical stimuli in ligated rats compared to the ligated naïve group. There was a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the levels of nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer B cell inhibitor, calcium ion, interleukin-1-beta, and tumour necrotic factor-alpha in the spinal cord of the group coadministered with acetaminophen and L-carnosine compared to the ligated control group. Co-administration with acetaminophen and L-carnosine increased the antioxidant enzymatic activities and reduced the lipid peroxidation in the spinal cord. Conclusions: Co-administration of acetaminophen and L-carnosine has anti-inflammatory effects as a mechanism that mediate its antinociceptive effects in CCI-induced peripheral neuropathy in Wistar rat.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.37-44
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• 2011

배경 및 목적 : 봉독약침요법(bee venom pharmacopuncture, BVP)은 rheumatoid arthritis(RA)의 치료에 활용되고 있으나, RA로 인한 염증성 통증에 대한 봉독약침의 진통효과와 specific mechanism은 아직까지 명확하게 밝혀지지 않았다. 이에 본 연구에서는 RA animal model로서 collagen-induced arthritis(CIA) rat model에서 봉독약침의 a1-adrenergic, 5HT-3 그리고 muscarinic cholinergic mechanism을 확인하고자 한다. 방법 : CIA를 유도하기 위하여 male Sprague-Dawley rat에 freund's incomplete adjuvant에 유화(乳化)시킨 bovine type II collagen을 주입하고 14일 후 booster injection 시행하였다. 진통효과는 tail flick latency (TFL)로 평가하였다. 결과 : 관절염의 유도 이후 염증성 통증 역치는 시간이 지나면서 낮아지며, 5주 이후로는 통증 역치에 큰 변화가 없이 유지되었다. 첫 번째 immunization으로부터 5주 경과 후 족삼리($ST_{36}$)에 봉독약침처치(0.25 mg/ kg)를 시행하여 유의한 진통효과를 관찰하였다. 또한 봉독약침의 진통효과는 ondansetron(5HT-3 receptor antagonist, 0.5mg/kg, i.p.), atropine(muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonist, 1mg/kg, i.p.)의 전처치에 의하여 억제되었으나, prazosin(a1-adrenergic receptor antagonist, 1mg/kg, i.p.)의 전처치에 의해서는 억제되지 않았다. 결론 : 봉독약침은 CIA로 인한 염증성 통증에 유의한 진통효과를 나타내며 그 analgesic mechanism은 5HT-3와 muscarinic cholinergic receptor에 의하여 매개되며 a1-adrenergic receptor에 의하여 매개되지는 않았다.