title: Attenuation of mechanical hyperalgesia following spinal cord injury by administration of antibodies to nerve growth factor in the rat.
abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to central pain syndrome including hyperalgesia to mechanical stimulation. Since there is evidence that nerve growth factor (NGF) contributes to pain-related behaviors, we wished to determine if anti-NGF might inhibit abnormal somatosensory behaviors that develop following SCI in rats. SCI was performed in male Sprague-Dawley rats by T13 spinal hemisection. After spinal hemisection, animals were untreated or treated daily with anti-NGF or saline intraperitoneally for 10 days. In groups of both hemisection only and hemisection with saline treatment, mechanical hyperalgesia developed in both hindlimbs, as evidenced by a decrease in paw withdrawal thresholds. Mechanical responsiveness of wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons on both sides of spinal cord also increased. The anti-NGF treated group demonstrated significant suppression of both mechanical hyperalgesia and increased WDR neuronal responsiveness. These results indicate that anti-NGF prevents the development of abnormal somatosensory behavior and suggest a potential pre-emptive analgesic treatment for central pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Brain Research Institute, and BK21 Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, CPO Box 8044, Seoul 120-752, South Korea.
authors.forename: Young Seob
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Gwak
authors.forename: Taick Sang
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Kwang Se
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.forename: Claire E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hulsebosch
authors.forename: Joong Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Leem
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000503:physiopathology; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017288:Pain Threshold; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D014110:Touch
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors