1. Neuropathic pain: Spotlighting anatomy, experimental models, mechanisms, and therapeutic aspects
- Author
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Svenja Kankowski, Claudia Grothe, Kirsten Haastert‐Talini, and Michel Barrot
- Subjects
Afferent Pathways ,0303 health sciences ,business.industry ,General Neuroscience ,Lateral spinothalamic tract ,Disease ,Models, Theoretical ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Pain assessment ,Neuropathic pain ,Molecular mechanism ,Animals ,Humans ,Neuralgia ,Medicine ,Direct consequence ,business ,Neuroscience ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,030304 developmental biology ,Pain transmission - Abstract
The International Association for the Study of Pain defines neuropathic pain as "pain arising as a direct consequence of a lesion or disease affecting the somatosensory system" (Treede et al., 2008). The associated changes can be observed in the peripheral as well as the central nervous system. The available literature discusses a wide variety of causes as predisposing for the development and amplification of neuropathic pain. Further, key interactions within sensory pathways have been discovered, but no common molecular mechanism leading to neuropathic pain has been identified until now. In the first part of this review, the pain mediating lateral spinothalamic tract is described. Different in vivo models are presented that allow studying trauma-, chemotherapy-, virus-, and diabetes-induced neuropathic pain in rodents. We furthermore discuss approaches to assess neuropathic pain in these models. Second, the current knowledge about cellular and molecular mechanisms suggested to underlie the development of neuropathic pain is presented and discussed. A summary of established therapies that are already applied in the clinic and novel, promising approaches closes the paper. In conclusion, the established animal models are able to emulate the diversity of neuropathic pain observed in the clinics. However, the assessment of neuropathic pain in the presented in vivo models should be improved. The determination of common molecular markers with suitable in vitro models would simplify the assessment of neuropathic pain in vivo. This would furthermore provide insights into common molecular mechanisms of the disease and establish a basis to search for satisfying therapeutic approaches.
- Published
- 2021