Effects of gabapentin on thermal sensitivity following spinal nerve ligation or spinal cord compression.

Neuropathic pain challenges healthcare professionals and researchers to develop new strategies of treatment and experimental models to better understand the pathophysiology of this condition. In the present study, the efficacy of gabapentin on thermal sensitivity following spinal nerve ligation and spinal cord compression was evaluated. The method of behavioral assessment was a well-validated cortically dependent operant escape task. Spinal nerve ligation produced peripheral neuropathic pain whereas spinal cord compression, achieved with an expanding polymer placed extradurally, produced a condition of central neuropathic pain. Changes in thermal sensitivity were also observed in animals undergoing nerve ligation surgery without nerve injury. Gabapentin (50 and 100 mg/kg) significantly reduced thermal sensitivity to 10 and 44.5 °C in surgically naive animals as well as those undergoing spinal nerve ligation and spinal cord compression. In conclusion, an operant method of behavioral assessment was used to show that spinal nerve ligation and spinal cord compression produced increases in sensitivity to noxious cold and heat stimuli. A decrease in thermal sensitivity was observed following administration of gabapentin. The results achieved with these methods are consistent with the clinical profile of gabapentin in treating conditions of neuropathic pain.

Sex differences in effects of excitotoxic spinal injury on below-level pain sensitivity.

Effects of excitotoxic injury to the thoracic gray matter on sensitivity to below-level nociceptive stimulation were evaluated for female and male Long-Evans rats. Operant escape and lick/guard (L/G) reflex responses to thermal stimulation were evaluated before and for 13-15 weeks after: 1) injections of quisqualic acid (QUIS) into the thoracic gray matter (T8-9), 2) laminectomy and spinal exposure and penetration without injection (sham) or 3) no surgical procedure (control). L/G responding to heat stimulation (44 °C) was unaffected for females and males following thoracic QUIS injections. Similarly, male escape performance was not significantly altered for 44 °C or 10 °C stimulation after QUIS injections or sham surgery. However, escape testing following QUIS and sham injections revealed increased heat sensitivity (44 °C) and decreased cold sensitivity (10 °C) for females. This selective effect is indicative of altered sympathetic activation by the thoracic injections. The effect of sham surgery suggests that female rats are vulnerable to ischemic injury during exposure and manipulation of the spinal cord. Escape from nociceptive heat and cold sensitivity of control males and females was unchanged over 13-15 weeks of testing.

Interview: Pathways to discovery: reflections on an ongoing journey.

Dr Robert Yezierski received his PhD in Physiology from West Virginia University (WV, USA). He completed postdoctoral training at the Marine Biomedical Institute in Galveston (TX, USA). Dr Yezierski joined the faculty in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson (MS, USA) in 1981 where he carried out studies related to the anatomy, physiology and pharmacology of spinal neurons projecting to different targets of the mesencephalon (spinomesencephalic tract). In 1987, he assumed the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami (FL, USA) where he initiated studies related to the condition of pain and abnormal sensation associated with spinal cord injury. Dr Yezierski created a program in pain research at The Miami Project and was co-chair of an international task force related to the condition of spinal cord injury pain along with organizing numerous symposia and workshops related to this topic. In 2001 Dr Yezierski was appointed Professor and Director of the Comprehensive Center for Pain Research at the University of Florida (FL, USA). Dr Yezierski's current research is dedicated to understanding the mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of abnormal sensation including pain with advancing age. His research program is multidisciplinary, combining a variety of anatomical, molecular, pharmacological, physiological and behavioral techniques.

Involvement of ERK2 in traumatic spinal cord injury.

Activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) are implicated in the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the specific functions of individual ERK isoforms in neurodegeneration are largely unknown. We investigated the hypothesis that ERK2 activation may contribute to pathological and functional deficits following SCI and that ERK2 knockdown using RNA interference may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for SCI. Lentiviral ERK2 shRNA and siRNA were utilized to knockdown ERK2 expression in the spinal cord following SCI. Pre-injury intrathecal administration of ERK2 siRNA significantly reduced excitotoxic injury-induced activation of ERK2 (p < 0.001) and caspase 3 (p < 0.01) in spinal cord. Intraspinal administration of lentiviral ERK2 shRNA significantly reduced ERK2 expression in the spinal cord (p < 0.05), but did not alter ERK1 expression. Administration of the lentiviral ERK2 shRNA vector 1 week prior to severe spinal cord contusion injury resulted in a significant improvement in locomotor function (p < 0.05), total tissue sparing (p < 0.05), white matter sparing (p < 0.05), and gray matter sparing (p < 0.05) 6 weeks following severe contusive SCI. Our results suggest that ERK2 signaling is a novel target associated with the deleterious consequences of spinal injury.