Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
Interdipartimental University Center of Research "Adaption and Regeneration of Tissues and Organs (ARTO)", University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Aug 23;24(17):13128. doi: 10.3390/ijms241713128.
Pain is a very important problem of our existence, and the attempt to understand it is one the oldest challenges in the history of medicine. In this review, we summarize what has been known about pain, its pathophysiology, and neuronal transmission. We focus on orofacial pain and its classification and features, knowing that is sometimes purely subjective and not well defined. We consider the physiology of orofacial pain, evaluating the findings on the main neurotransmitters; in particular, we describe the roles of glutamate as approximately 30-80% of total peripheric neurons associated with the trigeminal ganglia are glutamatergic. Moreover, we describe the important role of oxidative stress and its association with inflammation in the etiogenesis and modulation of pain in orofacial regions. We also explore the warning and protective function of orofacial pain and the possible action of antioxidant molecules, such as melatonin, and the potential influence of nutrition and diet on its pathophysiology. Hopefully, this will provide a solid background for future studies that would allow better treatment of noxious stimuli and for opening new avenues in the management of pain.
疼痛是我们存在的一个非常重要的问题，理解疼痛是医学史上最古老的挑战之一。在这篇综述中，我们总结了关于疼痛的已知知识，包括其病理生理学和神经元传递。我们专注于口腔颌面部疼痛及其分类和特征，因为我们知道它有时是纯粹主观的，定义不明确。我们考虑口腔颌面部疼痛的生理学，评估主要神经递质的发现；特别是，我们描述了谷氨酸的作用，因为大约 30-80%与三叉神经节相关的外周神经元是谷氨酸能的。此外，我们描述了氧化应激及其与炎症的关联在口腔颌面部区域疼痛的发生和调节中的重要作用。我们还探讨了口腔颌面部疼痛的警告和保护功能，以及抗氧化分子（如褪黑素）的可能作用，以及营养和饮食对其病理生理学的潜在影响。希望这将为未来的研究提供坚实的基础，使我们能够更好地治疗有害刺激，并为疼痛管理开辟新的途径。
