title: Stress-induced pain: a target for the development of novel therapeutics.
abstract: Although current therapeutics provide relief from acute pain, drugs used for treatment of chronic pain are typically less efficacious and limited by adverse side effects, including tolerance, addiction, and gastrointestinal upset. Thus, there is a significant need for novel therapies for the treatment of chronic pain. In concert with chronic pain, persistent stress facilitates pain perception and sensitizes pain pathways, leading to a feed-forward cycle promoting chronic pain disorders. Stress exacerbation of chronic pain suggests that centrally acting drugs targeting the pain- and stress-responsive brain regions represent a valid target for the development of novel therapeutics. This review provides an overview of how stress modulates spinal and central pain pathways, identifies key neurotransmitters and receptors within these pathways, and highlights their potential as novel targets for therapeutics to treat chronic pain.
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs Medical Center (B.G.-V.M.), Department of Physiology (B.G.-V.M.), and Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience (A.C.J., B.G.-V.M.), University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
authors.forename: Anthony C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs Medical Center (B.G.-V.M.), Department of Physiology (B.G.-V.M.), and Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience (A.C.J., B.G.-V.M.), University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Beverley-Greenwood@ouhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Beverley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Greenwood-Van Meerveld
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000378:metabolism; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents