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Preemptive analgesia inhibits the progression of pain caused by surgical lesions. To analyze the effect of lidocaine on postoperative pain relief, we performed compression of the right sciatic nerve in Wistar rats and observed the differences on behavior between the group that received lidocaine and the group that was not treated with the local anesthetics pre-operatively. Group 1 was not operated (control); group 2 underwent the sciatic nerve ligature without lidocaine; group 3, underwent surgery with previous local infiltration of lidocaine. Group 2 showed significantly longer scratching times with a peak on day 14 post-operative (p=0.0005) and reduction in the latency to both noxious (p=0.003) and non-noxious (p=0.004) thermal stimulus. Group 3 presented significantly shorter scratching times (p=0.004) and longer latency times when compared to Group 2. Preemptive use of lidocaine 2% can potentially reduce the postoperative neuropathic pain associated with sciatic nerve compression.A analgesia preemptiva inibe a progressão da dor causada por lesão cirúrgica. Para analisar o efeito da lidocaína na diminuição da dor pós-operatória, submetemos ratos Wistar a compressão cirúrgica do nervo ciático e observamos diferenças em alguns padrões de comportamento entre o grupo tratado com lidocaína pré-operatória e o grupo não-tratado com o anestésico local. O grupo 1 não foi operado (controle); o grupo 2, submetido a ligadura do nervo ciático sem lidocaína, apresentou significativo aumento do tempo de coçar-se com um pico no 14º pós-operatório (p=0.0005) e redução na latência para os estímulos térmicos nocivo (p=0.003) e não-nocivo (p=0.004); o grupo 3, operado com a droga preemptiva, demonstrou significativo decréscimo no tempo de coçar-se (p=0.004) e maiores tempos de latência quando comparados aos do grupo 2. O uso preemptivo da lidocaína 2% pode, potencialmente, reduzir a dor neuropática pós-operatória associada à compressão do nervo ciático.

In this retrospective (1980-1998) study, we have analyzed clinico-demographically, from the records of the University Hospital of Fortaleza (Brazil), a group of 87 patients showing signs and symptoms of motor neuron diseases (MNDs). Their diagnosis was determined clinically and laboratorially. The WFN criteria were used for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis. The clinico-demographic analysis of the 87 cases of MNDs showed that 4 were diagnosed as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), 5 cases as ALS subsets: 2 as progressive bulbar paralysis (PBP), 2 as progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) and 1 as monomelic amyotrophy (MA), and 78 cases of ALS. The latter comprised 51 males and 27 females, with a mean age of 42.02 years. They were sub-divided into 4 groups according to age: from 15 to 29 years (n= 17), 30 to 39 years (n= 18), 40 to 69 years (n= 39) and 70 to 78 years (n= 4). From the 78 ALS patients, 76 were of the classic sporadic form whilst only 2 were of the familial form. The analysis of the 87 patients with MNDs from the University Hospital of Fortaleza showed a predominance of ALS patients, with a high number of cases of juvenile and early onset adult sporadic ALS.

Since anticonvulsants have been used for treating neuralgias, an interest has arisen to experimentally test vigabatrin for its gabaergic mechanism of action. For this, 41 Wistar rats were used, and in 25 of them a constrictive sciatic neuropathy was induced (Bennet & Xie model). For testing pain symptoms, spontaneous (scratching) and evoked behaviors to noxious (46o C) and non-noxious (40o C) thermal stimuli were quantified. Moreover, a comparative pharmacological study of vigabatrin with other analgesic anticonvulsant drugs was also performed. The results showed a possible dose-dependent analgesic effect of vigabatrin (gamma-vinyl-GABA) on experimental neuropathic pain, as shown by the significant (p

With the purpose of studying data on spontaneous customary changes in diabetic rats, we induced diabetes in 28 Wistar rats with streptozotocin. The animals were observed for 27 weeks in an attempt to characterize spontaneous customary changes that could suggest signs of chronic pain. Morphine, as a central-acting potent analgesic and its specific antagonist naloxone, were used. Our results evidenced in the animals a clinical syndrome similar to human diabetes. Long-term customary analysis revealed a significant (pCom o objetivo de estudar dados sobre mudança de comportamento em ratos com neuropatia diabética dolorosa, induzimos diabetes em 28 ratos Wistar com estreptozotocina. Os animais foram então observados ao longo de 27 semanas com o propósito de caracterizar mudanças espontâneas em seus hábitos que pudessem sugerir sinais de dor crônica. Morfina como um potente analgésico de ação central e seu antagonista específico naloxona foram utilizados. Nossos resultados evidenciaram nos animais uma síndrome clínica semelhante ao diabetes humano (poliúria, catarata, perda de peso, neuropatia sensitivo-motora de predomínio distal). A análise comportamental revelou aumento dos comportamentos de coçar-se e descansar/dormir, e diminuição das atividades motoras e hábitos de comer e limpar-se. Além disso, os testes térmicos revelaram sinais de hiperalgesia em 43% desses animais, o que corrobora o significado de coçar-se como sinal de dor. Os testes farmacológicos com morfina evidenciaram inibição significativa (p

Baclofen (beta-p-chlorophenyl-GABA) has been used in humans to treat spasticity, as well as trigeminal neuralgia. Since GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) has been implicated in inhibitory and analgesic effects in the nervous system, it was of interest to study the effect of baclofen in experimental neuropathic pain. With this purpose, experiments were carried out in 17 neuropathic rats with constrictive sciatic injury, as described by Bennet and Xie (1988), taking as pain parameters scratching behaviour and the latency to the thermal nociceptive stimulus. The results showed that baclofen induces, in a dose-dependent manner, significant decrease (p < 0.05) of scratching behaviour and significant increase (p < 0.05) of the latency to the nociceptive thermal stimulus. The absence of antagonism of naloxone suggested a non-participation of an opioid-mediated mechanism in this analgesic effect of baclofen on experimental neuropathic pain.

The authors have analyzed clinico-neuropathologically nine cases of the definite sporadic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). All cases were female, with mean age of 62.7 years. Eighty-nine percent of the patients exhibited prodromal and initial psychiatric symptoms; definite signs of dementia, and myoclonus were present in 100% of cases. The EEG was abnormal in all cases and pseudoperiodic paroxysms were present in 56% of the patients. Their evolution time ranged from 3 to 19 months. Neuropathologically, brain and cerebellar atrophy, spongiosis, astrocytosis and neuronal loss were present in 100% of the patients. In 5 (56%) of these 9 cases, prion protein (PrP) amyloid plaques were detected in the cerebellum, by optical- and electronmicroscopy. There was a positive correlation between the number of plaques and the evolution time. The authors outline the similarities of their cases in the elderly with the new variant of CJD described in young people.