Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health - NEUROFARBA - Pharmacology and Toxicology Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
ASAcampus Joint Laboratory, ASA Res. Div. - Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences "Mario Serio", University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jun 26;9(1):9297. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-45469-5.
Neuropathic pain is characterized by an uncertain etiology and by a poor response to common therapies. The ineffectiveness and the frequent side effects of the drugs used to counteract neuropathic pain call for the discovery of new therapeutic strategies. Laser therapy proved to be effective for reducing pain sensitivity thus improving the quality of life. However, its application parameters and efficacy in chronic pain must be further analyzed. We investigated the pain relieving and protective effect of Photobiomodulation Therapy in a rat model of compressive mononeuropathy induced by Chronic Constriction Injury of the sciatic nerve (CCI). Laser (MLS-MiS) applications started 7 days after surgery and were performed ten times over a three week period showing a reduction in mechanical hypersensitivity and spontaneous pain that started from the first laser treatment until the end of the experiment. The ex vivo analysis highlighted the protective role of laser through the myelin sheath recovery in the sciatic nerve, inhibition of iNOS expression and enhancement of EAAT-2 levels in the spinal cord. In conclusion, this study supports laser treatment as a future therapeutic strategy in patients suffering from neuropathic pain induced by trauma.
神经病理性疼痛的病因不确定，对常见治疗方法的反应也不佳。用于对抗神经病理性疼痛的药物效果不佳且经常出现副作用，这就需要寻找新的治疗策略。激光治疗已被证明可有效降低疼痛敏感性，从而提高生活质量。然而，其应用参数和在慢性疼痛中的疗效仍需进一步分析。我们在慢性缩窄性坐骨神经损伤（CCI）引起的压迫性单神经病大鼠模型中研究了光生物调节疗法的镇痛和保护作用。激光（MLS-MiS）治疗在手术后 7 天开始进行，在三周内进行了 10 次，结果显示机械性超敏反应和自发性疼痛减轻，从第一次激光治疗开始直到实验结束。离体分析突出了激光的保护作用，表现在坐骨神经髓鞘恢复、iNOS 表达抑制和脊髓 EAAT-2 水平增强。总之，这项研究支持将激光治疗作为治疗创伤引起的神经病理性疼痛患者的未来治疗策略。
