[Effect of oxytocin on human pain perception].
BACKGROUND
Over the years the effect of the neuropeptide oxytocin and its possible utilization for pain management has been increasingly more investigated and discussed. Initial results emphasized the effects of oxytocin with respect to labor and breastfeeding. Diverse animals studies were also able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the peptide in attachment behavior and pain perception; however, it is still unclear how oxytocin affects pain perception in humans. The potential therapeutic effectiveness of oxytocin could be particularly important for primary and secondary treatment of pain patients because chronification of pain can occur more frequently in this area.


METHODS
For this review the databases PubMed, Medline und PsycINFO were searched using the terms oxytocin, pain, human and analgesic. The search resulted in a total of 89 original articles after excluding articles regarding labor pain, breastfeeding and animal studies. Only those studies were included which were carried out between 1994 and 2015. A total of 17 articles remained for inclusion in this review and included 13 studies on the exogenous application of oxytocin and 4 on measurement of oxytocin levels in plasma.


CONCLUSIONS
This review article gives a summary of the current state of research on oxytocin and its direct and indirect association with human pain perception and emphasizes its relevance for the multimodal management of pain.
Tagesklinik für Schmerztherapie, Konservative Orthopädie, Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Schlierbacher Landstr. 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Deutschland. Ann-Christin.Pfeifer@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
A-C
AC
Pfeifer
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, Zentrum für Psychosoziale Medizin (ZPM), Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Deutschland.
B
B
Ditzen
Tagesklinik für Schmerztherapie, Konservative Orthopädie, Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Schlierbacher Landstr. 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Deutschland.
E
E
Neubauer
Tagesklinik für Schmerztherapie, Konservative Orthopädie, Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Schlierbacher Landstr. 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Deutschland.
M
M
Schiltenwolf
D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000523:psychology; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D048949:Labor Pain / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D051379:Mice; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods; D058748:Pain Perception / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D051381:Rats; D018045:Receptors, Oxytocin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
D018045:Receptors, Oxytocin; D010121:Oxytocin
Attachment behavior; Oxytocin; Pain perception; Therapeutic effectiveness; Treatment success
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