L-Arginine supplementation prevents allodynia and hyperalgesia in painful diabetic neuropathic rats by normalizing plasma nitric oxide concentration and increasing plasma agmatine concentration.

PURPOSE: Neuropathic pain is a common diabetic complication. It is characterized by symptoms of spontaneous and stimulus-evoked pain including hyperalgesia and allodynia. L-Arginine is a common precursor of many metabolites of biological interest, in particular, nitric oxide (NO), ornithine, and hence polyamines. In central nervous system, NO, glutamate, and polyamines share an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated effect. We hypothesized that a variation in arginine metabolism caused by diabetes may contribute to development and maintenance of neuropathic pain and to the worsening of clinical and biological signs of diabetes. METHODS: We examined whether oral L-arginine supplementation (2.58 ± 0.13 g/l in drinking water for 3 weeks) could improve the development of neuropathic pain and the clinical, biological, and metabolic complications of diabetes in streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic (D) rats. RESULTS: STZ administration induced classical symptoms of type 1 diabetes. Diabetic rats also displayed mechanical hypersensitivity, tactile, and thermal allodynia. Plasma citrulline and NO levels were increased in diabetic hyperalgesic/allodynic rats. L-Arginine supplementation failed to reduce hyperglycaemia, polyphagia, and weight loss. Moreover, it abolished hyperalgesia and allodynia by normalizing NO plasma concentration and increasing plasma agmatine concentration. CONCLUSIONS: L-Arginine supplementation prevented the development of mechanical hyperalgesia, tactile, and thermal allodynia in painful diabetic neuropathy with concomitant reduction of NO and increased agmatine production, offering new therapeutic opportunities for the management of diabetic neuropathic pain.

Anatomical study of serotonergic innervation and 5-HT(1A) receptor in the human spinal cord.

Serotonergic innervation of the spinal cord in mammals has multiple roles in the control of motor, sensory and visceral functions. In rats, functional consequences of spinal cord injury at thoracic level can be improved by a substitutive transplantation of serotonin (5-HT) neurons or regeneration under the trophic influence of grafted stem cells. Translation to either pharmacological and/or cellular therapies in humans requires the mapping of the spinal cord 5-HT innervation and its receptors to determine their involvement in specific functions. Here, we have performed a preliminary mapping of serotonergic processes and serotonin-lA (5-HT(1A)) receptors in thoracic and lumbar segments of the human spinal cord. As in rodents and non-human primates, 5-HT profiles in human spinal cord are present in the ventral horn, surrounding motoneurons, and also contact their presumptive dendrites at lumbar level. 5-HT(1A) receptors are present in the same area, but are more densely expressed at lumbar level. 5-HT profiles are also present in the intermediolateral region, where 5-HT(1A) receptors are absent. Finally, we observed numerous serotonergic profiles in the superficial part (equivalent of Rexed lamina II) of the dorsal horn, which also displayed high levels of 5-HT(1A) receptors. These findings pave the way for local specific therapies involving cellular and/or pharmacological tools targeting the serotonergic system.

Evidence for a differential opioidergic involvement in the analgesic effect of antidepressants: prediction for efficacy in animal models of neuropathic pain?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Antidepressants are one of the recommended treatments for neuropathic pain. However, their analgesic action remains unpredictable, and there are no selection criteria for clinical use. Better knowledge of their mechanism of action could help highlight differences underlying their unequal efficacy. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: We compared the activity of a tricyclic antidepressant (clomipramine) with selective 5-HT and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (milnacipran and duloxetine) in streptozocin-induced diabetic and chronic constriction nerve injury-induced neuropathic rats, after repeated injections. We looked for an opioidergic mechanism in their action. KEY RESULTS: Abolition of mechanical hyperalgesia was observed in mononeuropathic rats after five injections of clomipramine (5 mg·kg(-1) , s.c.) and milnacipran (10 or 20 mg·kg(-1) , i.p.) and in diabetic rats after clomipramine. An additional antinociceptive effect was obtained with five injections of duloxetine (3 mg·kg(-1) , i.p.) in both models and milnacipran (10 mg·kg(-1) , i.p.) in diabetic rats. These effects were observed with plasma antidepressant concentrations similar to those found in patients treated for neuropathic pain. Naloxone (1 mg·kg(-1) , i.v.) only suppressed the anti-hyperalgesic effects of clomipramine in both models of pain and of milnacipran in the traumatic model. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The opioid system appears to be involved in the mechanism of action of antidepressants that only have an anti-hyperalgesic effect but not in those that have a stronger (i.e. antinociceptive) effect. These differences between the antidepressants occurred whatever the aetiology of the neuropathy and, if confirmed in clinical trials, could be used to decide which antidepressant is administered to a patient with neuropathic pain.

Magnesium attenuates chronic hypersensitivity and spinal cord NMDA receptor phosphorylation in a rat model of diabetic neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain is a common diabetic complication affecting 8-16% of diabetic patients. It is characterized by aberrant symptoms of spontaneous and stimulus-evoked pain including hyperalgesia and allodynia. Magnesium (Mg) deficiency has been proposed as a factor in the pathogenesis of diabetes-related complications, including neuropathy. In the central nervous system, Mg is also a voltage-dependent blocker of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor channels involved in abnormal processing of sensory information. We hypothesized that Mg deficiency might contribute to the development of neuropathic pain and the worsening of clinical and biological signs of diabetes and consequently, that Mg administration could prevent or improve its complications. We examined the effects of oral Mg supplementation (296 mg l(-1) in drinking water for 3 weeks) on the development of neuropathic pain and on biological and clinical parameters of diabetes in streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. STZ administration induced typical symptoms of type 1 diabetes. The diabetic rats also displayed mechanical hypersensitivity and tactile and thermal allodynia. The level of phosphorylated NMDA receptor NR1 subunit (pNR1) was higher in the spinal dorsal horn of diabetic hyperalgesic/allodynic rats. Magnesium supplementation failed to reduce hyperglycaemia, polyphagia and hypermagnesiuria, or to restore intracellular Mg levels and body growth, but increased insulinaemia and reduced polydipsia. Moreover, it abolished thermal and tactile allodynia, delayed the development of mechanical hypersensitivity, and prevented the increase in spinal cord dorsal horn pNR1. Thus, neuropathic pain symptoms can be attenuated by targeting the Mg-mediated blockade of NMDA receptors, offering new therapeutic opportunities for the management of chronic neuropathic pain.

Dopaminergic and opioidergic mediations of tricyclic antidepressants in the learned helplessness paradigm.

The roles of dopaminergic and opioid neurotransmissions in the activity of three tricyclic antidepressants endowed with different monoamine-reuptake properties [desipramine (DESI), imipramine (IMI), amineptine (AMN)] were examined using a behavioral model of depression in rats; the learned helplessness paradigm. In this model, exposure of rats to inescapable shocks (day 1) produced a subsequent escape deficit in a shuttle box test (days 3, 4, and 5). The escape deficit was reversed by AMN, DESI, and IMI administered twice daily for 5 days (16 and 32 mg/kg/day, p < 0.05, days 3, 4, and 5). In addition, AMN tended to enhance the motor activity of rats during the intertrial intervals, but on the first shuttle-box test only (day 3: p < 0.05, control vs AMN). Haloperidol, a preferential D2 dopamine receptor antagonist, acutely injected IP (37.5 microg/kg), suppressed the behavioral activity of DESI and IMI but not that of AMN. Naloxone, a preferential mu-opioid receptor antagonist, acutely injected IP (0.5 mg/kg), suppressed the behavioral activity of IMI but not that of DESI and AMN. It is concluded that an increased dopaminergic activity is a neurochemical effect common to the different tricyclic antidepressants (via a presynaptic mechanism for AMN and a postsynaptic mechanism for DESI and IMI), whereas an increased mu-opioid neurotransmission does not appear to be essential.

Spinal effect of a neuropeptide FF analogue on hyperalgesia and morphine-induced analgesia in mononeuropathic and diabetic rats.

1DMe, a neuropeptide FF (NPFF) analogue, has been shown to produce antinociception and to enhance morphine analgesia in rats after intrathecal administration. To determine whether 1DMe could correct hyperalgesia and restore morphine efficacy in mononeuropathic (MN) and diabetic (D) rats we examined the spinal effect of 1DMe in MN and D rats without and after spinal blockade of mu- and delta-opioid receptors with CTOP and naltrindole, respectively. The influence of 1DMe on morphine-induced antinociception was assessed in the two models using isobolographic analysis. Whereas 1DMe intrathecally injected (0.1, 1, 7.5 microg rat(-1)) was ineffective in normal (N) rats, it suppressed mechanical hyperalgesia (decrease in paw pressure-induced vocalisation thresholds) in both MN and D rats. This effect was completely cancelled by CTOP (10 microg rat(-1)) and naltrindole (1 microg rat(-1)) suggesting that it requires the simultaneous availability of mu- and delta-opioid receptors. The combinations of morphine: 1DMe (80.6:19.4% and 99.8:0.2%, in MN and D rats, respectively) followed by isobolographic analysis, showed a superadditive interaction, relative to the antinociceptive effect of single doses, in D rats only. In N rats, the combination of morphine: 1DMe (0.5 mg kg(-1), i.v.: 1 microg rat(-1), i.t., ineffective doses) resulted in a weak short-lasting antinociceptive effect. These results show a different efficacy of 1DMe according to the pain model used, suggesting that the pro-opioid effects of the NPFF in neuropathic pain are only weak, which should contribute to hyperalgesia and to the impaired efficacy of morphine.

Reversal of learned helplessness by morphine in rats: involvement of a dopamine mediation.

The aim of this study was to examine the role of dopamine neurotransmission in the effects of morphine in the learned helplessness paradigm in rats, a generally recognized model of depression. In this model, rats first exposed to inescapable shocks (stressed rats) exhibited an escape deficit in a subsequent shuttle-box test performed 48 h later for 3 consecutive days. The numbers of escape failures and intertrial crossings (motor activity during each intertrial interval) were recorded. Morphine was injected twice daily for 5 days (6 mg/kg/day, s.c.), and haloperidol, a preferential D2-dopamine receptor antagonist, was injected i.p. 15 min before each shuttle-box session. At the highest dose tested (150 microg/kg) haloperidol mimicked the behavioral deficit produced by inescapable shocks. A 37.5 microg/kg dose of haloperidol, which was ineffective by itself, reversed the morphine-induced improvement of escape behavior in previously stressed rats and the morphine-induced increase in intertrial activity in both stressed and nonstressed animals. These results support roles (a) for a dysregulation of dopaminergic neuronal activity in the expression of escape deficit subsequent to an inescapable aversive situation, and (b) for a dopaminergic mediation in the effects of morphine in the learned helplessness paradigm.

Effects of morphine, naloxone and their interaction in the learned-helplessness paradigm in rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible involvement of the mu-opioid system on the learned-helplessness paradigm, an experimental model of depression, in rats. In this test, rats were first exposed to inescapable foot-shocks (IS); 48 h later, they were submitted to a daily shuttle-box session (30 trials) for 3 consecutive days. Avoidance responses, escape failures and animal activity during each intertrial interval were recorded. Twice daily injections of morphine (0.25-8 mg/kg per day, SC), a mu-opioid agonist, reduced the increased escape failures induced by IS, as did tricyclic antidepressants. Significantly higher intertrial activity was observed in rats treated with morphine (2-8 mg/kg per day) compared with their associated control groups. Naloxone (1 and 2 mg/kg, IP), a mu-opioid antagonist, injected 10 min before each shuttle-box session impaired escape behavior in non-stressed rats and worsened the escape deficit induced by IS. Morphine-induced improvement of escape behavior and increase in intertrial activity were clearly reversed by a low inactive dose of naloxone (0.5 mg/kg). These results suggest that mu-opioid receptor mediation is involved in the deleterious effects of uncontrollable stress.

[Propolis extract. I. Acute toxicity and determination of acute primary cutaneous irritation index]. / Extrait de propolis: I. Etude de la toxicité aiguë et détermination de l'indice d'irritation primaire cutanée.

In first part, the aim of this work is to study the orally subacute toxicity of a propolis extract on conscious mice. LD50 is more than 7.34 g/kg propolis extract: this product is not toxic. In second part, cutaneous primary irritation of several products: excipients and propolis extract alone or in ointments, is evaluated in the rabbit. The cutaneous reactions after reiterated applications for 14 days are observed. The index of cutaneous primary irritation is calculated by evaluation of the erythematous and oedematous lesions. The propolis extract is non irritant.

[Propolis extract. II. Wound healing the the rat and rabbit]. / Extrait de propolis: II. Etude de la cicatrisation de plaies chez le lapin et chez le rat.

This work is related to wounds healing properties of a propolis extract. In first study on the Albinos Rabbit, the activity of a propolis extract is compared with these of a Peru balsam. Optimal concentrations of them in ointments are evaluated by applications on deep cutaneous scarifications. In order to go further into details, we have chosen in second part, another assay on the Rat, allowing the obtention of deeper wounds; By this way, more complete quantification of retained parameters and a better appraising of the wounds healing process evolution are possible.

Synthesis of new 5-substituted pyrazolo[1,5-d][1,2,4]-triazine derivatives and their analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties.

A series of 2-aryl-4-oxo-pyrazolo[1,5-d][1,2,4]triazines substituted in the 5-position by aminoalkyl or benzoyl moieties was synthesized and evaluated for analgesic activity. The structures of new triazine derivatives were confirmed by IR, 1H-NMR spectra and by elementary analysis. In the phenylbenzoquinone induced writhing test, only 3,3a-dihydropyrazolo triazines substituted by an arylpiperazinylmethyl group exhibited potent analgesic effect. In addition, these compounds possessed significant anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties. A desaturation in 3,3a positions or other groups than arylpiperazinylmethyl moieties notably decreased analgesic effects.

Comparative effects of different uptake inhibitor antidepressants in two pain tests in mice.

The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic effect of acute injections (1.25 and 20 mg/kg, ip) of several antidepressants with different effects on monoamine reuptake, on two pain tests in mice (hot-plate and phenylbenzoquinone-induced abdominal writhes). Serotonergic inhibitors (citalopram, fluvoxamine and clomipramine) were more effective in the hot-plate test whereas noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (desipramine and maprotilline) were more effective in the writhing test. The mixed antidepressants (amitriptyline and to a lesser degree trimipramine) were more effective in the two tests than the other antidepressant drugs. Changes in motor activity of clomipramine and amitriptyline could not account for the modifications of pain threshold. Amineptine (a dopamine reuptake inhibitor) failed to induce any antinociceptive effect in the hot-plate test and was hyperalgesic in the writhing test, which could be explained by an increased motor activity. These findings indicate that the antinociceptive potency of reuptake inhibitors varies according to their monoamine specificity and the nature of stimuli. They would suggest that the preferential choice of serotonergic antidepressants in the management of chronic pain is arguable.

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of N-substituted 4,6-diaryl-3-pyridazinones as analgesic, antiinflammatory and antipyretic agents.

The synthesis and the pharmacological evaluation of 19 new 4,6-diaryl-3-pyridazinones are reported. All compounds were screened for analgesic, antiinflammatory and antipyretic activities. Introduction of an arylpiperazinomethyl moiety in the 2-position of the pyridazinone ring resulted in the most potent activities. Compounds 2a, 2b, 2h and 2i exhibited a higher analgesic activity than did aspirin or noramidopyrine in the hot plate test.