neuropeptide-y and Sciatica

A prospective analysis of patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).. To determine the role of neuropeptides as a biochemical signature of pain states in patients with LDH.. Increases in the plasma level of neuropeptides have been reported in patients suffering from a variety of painful conditions. However, there is no such report on patients with LDH.. From a total of 27 patients with a single-level LDH, blood samples were collected before and 3 weeks after lumbar discectomy. Plasma levels of alpha calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), galanin, neuropeptide Y, and substance P were determined by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The association or correlation between preoperative concentration of plasma neuropeptides and gender, patients' age, and VAS were analyzed statistically. Also, the concentration of plasma neuropeptides was compared before and after lumbar discectomy.. Preoperative plasma levels of CGRP were correlated significantly with the extent of sciatica as determined by VAS. In addition, plasma levels of CGRP and galanin significantly decreased after lumbar discectomy in line with the disappearance of pain symptoms.. These findings indicate the role of plasma CGRP and possibly galanin as a systemic neurochemical signature of pain states in patients with LDH.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; Diskectomy; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Galanin; Humans; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Lumbar Vertebrae; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropeptide Y; Neuropeptides; Pain Measurement; Postoperative Period; Preoperative Care; Prospective Studies; Sciatica; Substance P

The aim of the present study was to test the behavioural effect of infraorbital (IO) chronic constriction injury (CCI) on the development of neuropathic pain in the rat hindpaw following sciatic nerve CCI performed 7 days later. Control groups consisted of rats that underwent sham infraorbital surgery followed by sciatic CCI at identical time points. Sensory testing of the rat's face and hindpaw was performed at baseline and at 4, 11, 14, 17 and 21 days postoperative (dpo) relative to the IOCCI, at which time all rats were euthanized. To test for strain differences the experiment was performed on Sprague-Dawley, Sabra and Lewis rats. In Lewis rats the trigeminal nerve injury significantly accelerated the development of hindpaw mechanoallodynia (11th, 14th and 17th dpo, unpaired t-test, P<0.05) and mechanohyperalgesia (14th and 17th dpo, unpaired t-test, P<0.05), following a second sciatic nerve CCI relative to the control group. This effect was not observed in Sprague-Dawley or Sabra rats.

Topics: Animals; Ganglia, Spinal; Hindlimb; Mechanoreceptors; Neuropeptide Y; Physical Stimulation; Rats; Rats, Inbred Lew; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sciatic Nerve; Sciatica; Species Specificity; Trigeminal Nerve Injuries; Trigeminal Neuralgia; Vibrissae