Microglia in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord are increasingly recognized as being crucial in
the pathogenesis of pain hypersensitivity after injury to a peripheral nerve. It is known that
P2X4 purinoceptors (P2X4Rs) cause the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor …

Microglia were described by Pio del Rio-Hortega (1932) as being the 'third element'distinct
from neurons and astrocytes. Decades after this observation, the function and even the very
existence of microglia as a distinct cell type were topics of intense debate and conjecture …

Chronic pain is highly variable between individuals, as is the response to analgesics.
Although much of the variability in chronic pain and analgesic response is heritable, an
understanding of the genetic determinants underlying this variability is rudimentary 1. Here …

A major unresolved issue in treating pain is the paradoxical hyperalgesia produced by the
gold-standard analgesic morphine and other opiates. We found that hyperalgesia-inducing
treatment with morphine resulted in downregulation of the K+-Cl− co-transporter KCC2 …

Neuropathic pain, the most debilitating of all clinical pain syndromes, may be a
consequence of trauma, infection or pathology from diseases that affect peripheral nerves.
Here we provide a framework for understanding the spinal mechanisms of neuropathic pain …

One of the most significant advances in pain research is the realization that neurons are not
the only cell type involved in the etiology of chronic pain. This realization has caused a
radical shift from the previous dogma that neuronal dysfunction alone accounts for pain …

The detection and processing of painful stimuli in afferent sensory neurons is critically
dependent on a wide range of different types of voltage-and ligand-gated ion channels,
including sodium, calcium, and TRP channels, to name a few. The functions of these …

Emerging evidence indicates that microglia play a critical role in the pathogenesis of
neuropathic pain, a debilitating chronic pain condition that can occur after peripheral nerve
damage caused by disease, infection, or physical injury. Microglia are immunocompetent …

Treating pain is one of the most difficult challenges in medicine and a key facet of disease
management. The isolation of morphine by Friedrich Sertürner in 1804 added an essential
pharmacological tool in the treatment of pain and spawned the discovery of a new class of …

This study examined the role of spinal calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP), substance
P, and prostaglandins in the development and expression of opioid physical dependence.