Open AccessElectroconvulsive Stimulation (ECS) Increases the Expression of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) in Rat Brains in a Model of Neuropathic Pain: A Quantitative Real‐Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT‐PCR) Study
Author(s) -
Okabe Tadashi,
Sato Chiyo,
Matsumoto Keisuke,
Ozawa Hitoshi,
Sakamoto Atsuhiro
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00678.x
Subject(s) - neuropathic pain , neuropeptide y receptor , medicine , refractory (planetary science) , electroconvulsive therapy , depression (economics) , stimulation , anesthesia , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , real time polymerase chain reaction , neuroscience , neuropeptide , psychiatry , psychology , receptor , biology , biochemistry , macroeconomics , astrobiology , gene , economics
ABSTRACT Objectives. Electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT) has been widely used as an effective and established treatment for refractory depression and schizophrenia. Some reports have shown that ECT is also effective for treating refractory neuropathic pain. Design. In a rat model of neuropathic pain produced by chronic constrictive injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve, thermal hyperalgesia, and mechanical allodynia were observed from day 2 after surgery. An electroconvulsive shock (ECS) was administered to rodents once daily for 6 days on days 7–12 after CCI operation using a pulse generator. Thermal and mechanical stimulation tests were performed to assess pain thresholds. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction was used to measure the gene expression levels for 5HT 1A R, 5HT 2A R, neuropeptide Y (NPY), and GABAA α1 R in the brain. Results. After ECS, the latency to withdrawal from thermal stimulation was significantly increased; however, pain withdrawal thresholds in response to mechanical stimulation were not significantly changed. Expression ratios of NPY were significantly greater after ECS. Conclusion. Symptoms of neuropathic pain improved and expression of NPY in the brain was increased in CCI model rats after ECS, suggesting that changes in the expression of NPY in the brain may be related to the mechanism of action of ECT in treating neuropathic pain.