Department of Anatomy and K.K. Leung Brain Research Centre, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, People's Republic of China.
Toxicon. 2013 Sep;71:134-9. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2013.05.011. Epub 2013 Jun 5.
Chronic pain indicates a type of pain that lasts over time and is accompanied by diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. It follows that treatment failures are common and patients roam from doctor to doctor in search of an effective care program. So there is an urgent need for long-acting and effective therapeutics to alleviate symptoms of the varied forms of chronic pain. During the past few years, a good success has been achieved with a derivative of a neurotoxin. It has been shown that administration of this toxin can block the release of neurotransmitters and pain mediators. Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) is well known as a treatment for neuromuscular conditions such as dystonia and spasticity. However, the clinical application for BoNT/A has continued to expand. Its analgesic effect has been used in clinical practice with satisfactory results. This review provides an introduction of a hypothesis for the mechanism by which BoNT/A eases chronic pain. It also summarizes the clinical therapeutic effects of BoNT/A in different types of chronic pain and its potential prospects.
慢性疼痛是一种持续时间较长且伴有诊断和治疗困难的疼痛类型。因此，治疗失败很常见，患者会四处求医，寻找有效的治疗方案。因此，迫切需要长效且有效的治疗方法来缓解各种形式的慢性疼痛症状。在过去的几年中，一种神经毒素的衍生物取得了很好的效果。研究表明，这种毒素可以阻止神经递质和疼痛介质的释放。肉毒毒素 A 型（BoNT/A）是一种众所周知的治疗肌张力障碍和痉挛等神经肌肉疾病的药物。然而，BoNT/A 的临床应用一直在不断扩展。其镇痛作用已在临床实践中得到应用，并取得了满意的效果。本综述介绍了 BoNT/A 缓解慢性疼痛的作用机制假说，并总结了 BoNT/A 在不同类型慢性疼痛中的临床治疗效果及其潜在前景。
