Neurotrophic factors as novel therapeutics for neuropathic pain
- 1 June 2003
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
- Vol. 2 (6) , 460-472
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1107
Abstract
Neuropathic pain is a chronic condition that is caused by injury to the nervous system. Unlike acute pain, which is protective, neuropathic pain persists and serves no useful purpose, and severely affects quality of life. However, present therapies have modest efficacy in most patients, are palliative rather than curative, and their side effects represent significant limitations. Tremendous progress has been made over the past decade in our understanding of the biology of pain sensory neurons. The recent discovery that neurotrophic factors play an important role in neuropathic pain indicates that these pathways could serve as novel intervention points for therapy. Moreover, neurotrophic factors have the potential to address the underlying pathophysiology of neuropathic pain, thereby halting or reversing the disease process.Keywords
This publication has 200 references indexed in Scilit:
- A-fibers mediate mechanical hyperesthesia and allodynia and C-fibers mediate thermal hyperalgesia in a new model of causalgiform pain disorders in ratsPublished by Elsevier ,2003
- Anticonvulsants for Neuropathic Pain SyndromesDrugs, 2000
- Multiple GPI-Anchored Receptors Control GDNF-Dependent and Independent Activation of the c-Ret Receptor Tyrosine KinaseMolecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 1998
- Lidocaine in the rostroventromedial medulla and the periaqueductal gray attenuates allodynia in neuropathic ratsNeuroscience Letters, 1996
- Postherpetic Neuralgia — Pathogenesis, Treatment, and PreventionNew England Journal of Medicine, 1996
- Reorganization of central terminals of myelinated primary afferents in the rat dorsal horn following peripheral axotomyJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1995
- Double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the application of capsaicin cream in chronic distal painful polyneuropathyPain, 1995
- Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor reverses toxin-induced injury to midbrain dopaminergic neurons in vivoNeuroscience Letters, 1994
- Spontaneous discharge originates in the dorsal root ganglion at the onset of a painful peripheral neuropathy in the ratNeuroscience Letters, 1992
- The production and prevention of experimental anesthesia dolorosaPain, 1979