Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Program in Pharmacology, and Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus and Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
Channels (Austin). 2021 Dec;15(1):398-407. doi: 10.1080/19336950.2021.1907058.
Our previous studies have implicated Ca3.2 isoform of T-type Ca2+ channels (T-channels) in the development of postsurgical pain. We have also previously established that different T-channel antagonists can alleviate in vivo postsurgical pain. Here we investigated the analgesic potential of another T-channel blocker and endogenous antioxidant molecule, α-lipoic acid (ALA), in a postsurgical pain model in rats. Our in vivo results suggest that single and repetitive intraperitoneal injections of ALA after surgery or preemptively, significantly reduced evoked mechanical hyperalgesia following surgical paw incision. Furthermore, repeated preemptive systemic injections of ALA effectively alleviated spontaneous postsurgical pain as determined by dynamic weight-bearing testing. We expect that our preclinical study may lead to further investigation of analgesic properties and mechanisms of analgesic action of ALA in patients undergoing surgery.
我们之前的研究表明，T 型钙通道（T-channels）的 Ca3.2 同工型在术后疼痛的发展中起作用。我们还曾发现，不同的 T 型通道拮抗剂可以缓解体内术后疼痛。在这里，我们在大鼠术后疼痛模型中研究了另一种 T 型通道阻滞剂和内源性抗氧化分子α-硫辛酸（ALA）的镇痛潜力。我们的体内研究结果表明，术后单次和重复腹腔内注射 ALA 或预先注射，可显著减轻手术性爪切口后的机械性痛觉过敏。此外，重复的预防性全身注射 ALA 通过动态负重试验有效地缓解了自发性术后疼痛。我们预计，我们的临床前研究可能会进一步研究 ALA 在接受手术的患者中的镇痛特性和作用机制。
