Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026

The Sciatic Nerve Cuffing Model of Neuropathic Pain in Mice
Published on: July 16, 2014
SUNCT syndrome responsive to gabapentin (Neurontin)
1The Pain Center of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Abstract:
A 48-year-old male suffering with SUNCT (severe unilateral neuralgiform headache with conjunctival injection and tearing, rhinorrhea and sub-clinical sweating) presented in 1996 after a 10-year history of multiple failed therapies. The symptoms included strictly left-sided ocular, as well as facial and temple pain. The pain attacks were burning, sharp, shooting and occurred 25 times daily, lasting 2 to 3 minutes with tearing and conjunctival injection. There was no associated nausea or vomiting, but there was photophobia. No other autonomic changes were reported and the pain was not triggerable. Initially Indocin (indomethacin) was tried without significant benefit. Gabapentin (Neurontin) was then started with improvement at 1800 mg per day. The patient was then lost to follow-up for 3 years, as he moved from the Los Angeles area. He returned in 1999 having stopped the gabapentin after his prescription ran out in 1996, reporting the pain returned immediately. Again gabapentin was prescribed and at 900 mg three times daily he has been pain free for 12 months.
Related Concept Videos
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
Local Anesthetics: Differential Sensitivity of Nerve Fibers
Antiepileptic Drugs: Sodium Channel Blockers
Sodium channel blockers modulate ion channels, particularly voltage-gated sodium channels. They block only sodium ion movement.
Among the most commonly prescribed antiepileptic drugs are...
Antiepileptic Drugs: GABAergic Pathway Potentiators
The key GABA pathway potentiators used in epilepsy management are as follows.
Benzodiazepines are a well-known class of drugs used for their...
Antiepileptic Drugs: Glutamate Antagonists
Antiepileptic Drugs: Modulators of Neurotransmitter Release Mediated by SV2A Protein
SV2A is a transmembrane glycoprotein located predominantly in the brain, modulating the release of neurotransmitters for neuronal communication. Both levetiracetam and brivaracetam exhibit a high affinity for...

