title: Influence of acute and subchronic oral administration of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on nociceptive threshold in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a neurosteroid, is known to be the most abundant hormone in the human body. Its role in the central nervous system has not been well defined. Previous studies indicate that DHEA is synthesized in the spinal cord and plays an important role in pain modulation. In the present study, we investigated the effect of DHEA on pain threshold in rats after both acute and subchronic treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats were orally administered with DHEA at a dose of 10 mg/kg once daily and the pain threshold was measured with mechanical and thermal stimuli.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After acute treatment, DHEA exhibited pronociceptive effects which lasted up to 150 min. After subchronic administration, DHEA showed an opposite effect by elevating the pain threshold.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that DHEA could be indicated as a drug to improve treatment of chronic pain disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Warszawa, Poland. emilia.trzaska@wum.edu.pl
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gąsińska
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bujalska-Zadrożny
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sar
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Makulska-Nowak
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D059226:Nociceptive Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone