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Neurovascular Unit in Chronic Pain
- Source :
- Mediators of Inflammation, Mediators of Inflammation, Vol 2013 (2013)
- Publication Year :
- 2013
- Publisher :
- Hindawi Limited, 2013.
-
Abstract
- Chronic pain is a debilitating condition with major socioeconomic impact, whose neurobiological basis is still not clear. An involvement of the neurovascular unit (NVU) has been recently proposed. In particular, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB), two NVU key players, may be affected during the development of chronic pain; in particular, transient permeabilization of the barrier is suggested by several inflammatory- and nerve-injury-based pain models, and we argue that the clarification of molecular BBB/BSCB permeabilization events will shed new light in understanding chronic pain mechanisms. Possible biases in experiments supporting this theory and its translational potentials are discussed. Moving beyond an exclusive focus on the role of the endothelium, we propose that our understanding of the mechanisms subserving chronic pain will benefit from the extension of research efforts to the NVU as a whole. In this view, the available evidence on the interaction between analgesic drugs and the NVU is here reviewed. Chronic pain comorbidities, such as neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, are also discussed in view of NVU changes, together with innovative pharmacological solutions targeting NVU components in chronic pain treatment.
- Subjects :
- metabolism/pathology
Immunology
Analgesic
analgesic drugs
Review Article
Blood–brain barrier
lcsh:Pathology
medicine
chronic pain
neurovascular unit
Animals
Humans
business.industry
Chronic pain
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Cell Biology
medicine.disease
Neurovascular bundle
medicine.anatomical_structure
Spinal Cord
Blood-Brain Barrier
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters
metabolism, Animals, Blood-Brain Barrier
metabolism/pathology, Chronic Pain
metabolism, Humans, Neuralgia
metabolism/pathology, Neurodegenerative Diseases
metabolism/pathology, Spinal Cord
Anesthesia
Neuralgia
Chronic Pain
business
metabolism
Neuroscience
lcsh:RB1-214
Spinal cord pathology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14661861 and 09629351
- Volume :
- 2013
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Mediators of Inflammation
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e90b0523e960fc0493ae972934be934d