1. Acetaminophen combined with tramadol is more effective than acetaminophen or tramadol to reduce neuropathic root pain: an experimental study with application of nucleus pulposus in a rat model.
- Author
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Sato, Ryohei, Sekiguchi, Miho, and Konno, Shin-ichi
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NUCLEUS pulposus , *DORSAL root ganglia , *ACETAMINOPHEN , *PAIN threshold , *RATS , *INTERVERTEBRAL disk hernias , *ANIMAL behavior , *BIOLOGICAL models , *NEURALGIA , *TRAMADOL , *ANIMALS , *PHARMACODYNAMICS - Abstract
Introduction: Various drugs are used to treat patients with neuropathic pain; however, optimal treatment using acetaminophen (A) and/or tramadol (T) remains unclear. The evidence supporting the drug choice and the timing of administration is insufficient. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of T and/or A on pain-related behavior in a nucleus pulposus (NP) rat model.Materials and Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 180) were divided into NP-A (52 mg/kg), NP-T (6 mg/kg), NP-AT (combined A and T), NP-S (saline), and sham groups (n = 36 per group). The rats received 0.2 mL of treatment solution orally once daily for 7 days after application of NP on the left L5 dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Behavioral testing and immunohistochemistry analysis for some markers' expressions in DRGs and the spinal cord were performed.Results: Pain thresholds in the NP-AT group did not significantly differ from the sham at all time points, while those were significantly lower in the NP-A and in the NP-T groups at D7 and/or D14 (p < 0.05). Tumor necrosis factor-α in the NP-S group was significantly higher at D2 and D7 (p < 0.05). Among the three treatment groups, activating transcriptional factor 3 and growth-associated protein 43 showed a tendency toward an increase at D7-D21.Conclusion: Combined administration of acetaminophen and tramadol maintained in the pain threshold in the rat NP model. These findings suggest that the combination of acetaminophen and tramadol might be a potential therapeutic modality for patients with lumbar disc herniation. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2020
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