Sultana Adiba, Singla Rajeev K, He Xuefei, Sun Yan, Alam Md Shahin, Shen Bairong
Center for Systems Biology, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China.
Institutes for Systems Genetics, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
Curr Drug Metab. 2021;22(3):198-207. doi: 10.2174/1389200221999201116143701.
Neuropathic pain (NP) is an egregious problem worldwide. Due to the side-effects of oral drugs, drugs delivered directly to the affected area of pain are preferred.
Capsaicin, a chemical compound isolated from chili peppers, is used as an analgesic in topical ointments and dermal patches to alleviate pain. Objective of the study is to review the application and functionality of topical capsaicin in treatment of neuropathic pain.
To systematically review capsaicin's functions on NP, we retrieved articles from the PubMed database published in the last ten years.
The inclusion criteria were capsaicin and the use of capsaicin for the treatment of NP; on the other hand, articles were excluded according to the mentioned criteria such as abstracts, articles written in any language other than English, incomplete articles, and conference papers.
Out of 265 articles, 108 articles were selected after filtering through the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data and knowledge currently existing for capsaicin treatment in NP are summarized.
This review indicates that capsaicin effectively improves NP treatment without affecting the motor and large nerve fibres involved in sensory function. Transient receptor potential channel vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) is the capsaicin receptor expressed in central and peripheral terminals of a sensitive primary nerve cell. Conclusions and implications of key findings: Topical capsaicin has a sensible safety profile and is effective in reducing NP. Therefore, studies over the last decade suggest that capsaicin might be a potential drug for NP treatment.
神经性疼痛（NP）是一个在全球范围内都极为严重的问题。由于口服药物存在副作用，直接作用于疼痛患处的药物更受青睐。
辣椒素是从辣椒中分离出的一种化合物，在局部软膏和皮肤贴剂中用作镇痛药以缓解疼痛。本研究的目的是综述局部应用辣椒素在神经性疼痛治疗中的应用及功能。
为了系统评价辣椒素对神经性疼痛的作用，我们从PubMed数据库中检索了过去十年发表的文章。
纳入标准为辣椒素以及使用辣椒素治疗神经性疼痛；另一方面，根据所述标准排除文章，如摘要、非英文撰写的文章、不完整的文章以及会议论文。
在265篇文章中，经过纳入和排除标准筛选后，选取了108篇文章。总结了目前关于辣椒素治疗神经性疼痛的现有数据和知识。
本综述表明，辣椒素可有效改善神经性疼痛的治疗，且不影响参与感觉功能的运动和大神经纤维。瞬时受体电位香草酸亚型1（TRPV1）是在感觉初级神经细胞的中枢和外周终末表达的辣椒素受体。主要发现的结论与意义：局部应用辣椒素具有合理的安全性，且在减轻神经性疼痛方面有效。因此，过去十年的研究表明辣椒素可能是治疗神经性疼痛的一种潜在药物。
