Reis Catarina, Chambel Sílvia, Ferreira Ana, Cruz Célia Duarte
Faculty of Medicine of Porto, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Experimental Biology Unit, Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine of Porto, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Rev Neurosci. 2022 Jul 7;34(1):75-84. doi: 10.1515/revneuro-2022-0037. Print 2023 Jan 27.
Pain is a complex experience, encompassing physiological and psychological components. Amongst the different types of pain, neuropathic pain, resulting from injuries to the peripheral or central nervous system, still constitutes a challenge for researchers and clinicians. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is currently regarded as a key contributor and may serve as a therapeutic target in many types of pain, likely including neuropathic pain. Here, we reviewed the role of NGF in neuropathic pain of peripheral and central origin, also addressing its potential use as a pharmacological target to better help patients dealing with this condition that severely impacts the everyday life. For this, we conducted a search in the databases PubMed and Scopus. Our search resulted in 1103 articles (458 in PubMed and 645 in Scopus). Only articles related to the involvement of NGF in pain or articles that approached its potential use as a target in treatment of pain symptoms were included. Duplicates were eliminated and 274 articles were excluded. After careful analysis, 23 articles were selected for review. Original articles studying the role of NGF in pathology as well as its modulation as a possible therapeutic target were included. We found that NGF is widely regarded as a key player in neuropathic pain and seen as a putative therapeutic target. However, evidence obtained from years of clinical trials highlights the toxic adverse effects of anti-NGF therapeutics, precluding its use in clinical context. Further studies are, thus, needed to improve treatment of chronic neuropathic pain.
疼痛是一种复杂的体验，包含生理和心理成分。在不同类型的疼痛中，由外周或中枢神经系统损伤引起的神经性疼痛，仍然是研究人员和临床医生面临的一个挑战。神经生长因子（NGF）目前被认为是一个关键因素，并且在许多类型的疼痛中，可能包括神经性疼痛，都可作为一个治疗靶点。在此，我们综述了NGF在周围性和中枢性神经性疼痛中的作用，还探讨了其作为药物靶点的潜在用途，以更好地帮助患者应对这种严重影响日常生活的病症。为此，我们在PubMed和Scopus数据库中进行了检索。我们的检索结果有1103篇文章（PubMed中有458篇，Scopus中有645篇）。仅纳入了与NGF在疼痛中的作用相关的文章，或探讨其作为疼痛症状治疗靶点的潜在用途的文章。剔除了重复文章，并排除了274篇文章。经过仔细分析，选择了23篇文章进行综述。纳入了研究NGF在病理中的作用及其作为可能治疗靶点的调节作用的原始文章。我们发现，NGF被广泛认为是神经性疼痛的关键因素，并被视为一个假定的治疗靶点。然而，多年临床试验获得的证据凸显了抗NGF治疗药物的毒性不良反应，使其无法在临床中使用。因此，需要进一步研究来改善慢性神经性疼痛的治疗。
