School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Cells. 2022 Nov 30;11(23):3842. doi: 10.3390/cells11233842.
Orofacial neuropathic pain indicates pain caused by a lesion or diseases of the somatosensory nervous system. It is challenging for the clinician to diagnose and manage orofacial neuropathic pain conditions due to the considerable variability between individual clinical presentations and a lack of understanding of the mechanisms underlying the etiology and pathogenesis. In the last few decades, researchers have developed diagnostic criteria, questionnaires, and clinical assessment methods for the diagnosis of orofacial neuropathic pain. Recently, researchers have observed the role of autophagy in neuronal dysfunction as well as in the modulation of neuropathic pain. On this basis, in the present review, we highlight the characteristics, classification, and clinical assessment of orofacial neuropathic pain. Additionally, we introduce autophagy and its potential role in the modulation of orofacial neuropathic pain, along with a brief overview of the pathogenesis, which in future may reveal new possible targets for treating this condition.
口腔颌面部神经性疼痛是指由躯体感觉神经系统的损伤或疾病引起的疼痛。由于个体临床表现差异较大，且对发病机制的理解不足，临床医生在诊断和处理口腔颌面部神经性疼痛病症方面面临挑战。在过去的几十年中，研究人员已经为口腔颌面部神经性疼痛的诊断制定了诊断标准、问卷和临床评估方法。最近，研究人员观察到自噬在神经元功能障碍以及神经性疼痛调节中的作用。在此基础上，在本综述中，我们重点介绍了口腔颌面部神经性疼痛的特征、分类和临床评估。此外，我们介绍了自噬及其在口腔颌面部神经性疼痛调节中的潜在作用，并简要概述了发病机制，这可能为治疗这种疾病提供新的可能靶点。
