Shirayama, Yukihiko Chaki, Shigeyuki
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
There is accumulating evidence that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of depression. Given that clinical depression is marked by anhedonia (diminished interest or pleasure), dysfunction of the brain reward pathway has been suggested as contributing to the pathophysiology of depression.Since the NAc is the ce...
Marchettini, P Lacerenza, M Mauri, E Marangoni, C
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
Peripheral neuropathies are a heterogeneous group of diseases affecting peripheral nerves. The causes are multiple: hereditary, metabolic, infectious, inflammatory, toxic, traumatic. The temporal profile includes acute, subacute and chronic conditions. The majority of peripheral neuropathies cause mainly muscle weakness and sensory loss, positive s...
Palazzos, E de Novellis, V Marabese, I Rossi, F Maione, S
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
Metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) and cannabinoid receptors are G-protein coupled receptors which have shown synaptic co-operation through small lipid messengers in the central nervous system (CNS). A functional interaction between these two receptor families could have a relevant potential in the treatment of CNS disorders, including chronic pain. Ind...
Chiechio, S Copani, A Nicoletti, F Gereau, R W 4th
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
During the past two decades, many pharmacological strategies have been investigated for the management of painful neuropathies. However, neuropathic pain still remains a clinical challenge. A combination of therapies is often required, but unfortunately in most cases adequate pain relief is not achieved. Recently, attention has been focused on the ...
Tao, Yuan-Xiang Johns, Roger A
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
Persistent pain, a common clinical condition, could be caused by inflammation, tissue injury secondary to trauma or surgery, and nerve injuries. It is often inadequately controlled by current treatments, such as opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The PDZ (Postsynaptic density 95, Discs large, and Zonula occludens-1) domains are ubiqu...
Gereau, Robert W 4th Nicoletti, Ferdinando
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
Story, Gina M
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
Pain is universal and vital to survival. It is an essential component of our sense of touch; together, touch and pain have evolved to enable our awareness of the intricacies of our environment and to warn us of danger and possible injury. There is a clear link between temperature sensation and pain-painful temperature sensations occur acutely and a...
Huang, Jiehong Zhang, Xuming McNaughton, Peter A
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
Injury or inflammation release a range of inflammatory mediators that increase the sensitivity of sensory neurons to noxious thermal or mechanical stimuli. The heat- and capsaicin-gated channel TRPV1, which is an important detector of multiple noxious stimuli, plays a critical role in the development of thermal hyperalgesia induced by a wide range ...
Manzanares, J Julian, Md Carrascosa, A
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
Cannabis extracts and synthetic cannabinoids are still widely considered illegal substances. Preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that they may result useful to treat diverse diseases, including those related with acute or chronic pain. The discovery of cannabinoid receptors, their endogenous ligands, and the machinery for the synthesis,...
Negri, Lucia Lattanzi, Roberta Giannini, Elisa Melchiorri, Pietro
Published in
Current neuropharmacology
Bv8 is a small protein secreted by frog skin. Mammalian homologues of Bv8, the prokineticins PK1 and PK2, and their G-protein coupled receptors PKR1 and PKR2 have been identified and linked to several biological effects. Bv8 elicits a dose-dependent reduction in nociceptive threshold to thermal and mechanical stimuli applied to the skin of tail and...
