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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Partial Sciatic Nerve Ligation: A Mouse Model of Chronic Neuropathic Pain to Study the Antinociceptive Effect of Novel Therapies
Published on: October 6, 2022
Systemic meloxicam reduces tactile allodynia development after L5 single spinal nerve injury in rats
Masahiro Takahashi1, Masahiko Kawaguchi, Keiji Shimada
1Department of Anesthesiology, Nara Medical University, Japan. masakun@nmu-gw.naramed-u.ac.jp
Background:
Although recent evidence suggests that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) may contribute to the development and management of neuropathic pain, the efficacy of COX-2 inhibitor against neuropathic pain is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of the systemic administration of the selective COX-2 inhibitor meloxicam at an early stage after nerve injury on the development of tactile allodynia in L5 single spinal-nerve injury in rats.
Methods:
Twenty-four young male Sprague-Dawley rats received L5 single spinal-nerve injury. Nerve-injured rats (6 per group) received repeated intraperitoneal administrations of meloxicam (1, 2, or 4 mg/kg) or vehicle 0, 12, 24, and 36 hours after nerve injury. Tactile allodynia was quantified for 4 weeks by use of von Frey filaments.
Results:
In animals given 2 mg/kg and 4 mg/kg, hind-paw withdrawal thresholds 4 weeks after nerve injury were significantly higher compared with those of the vehicle-treated animals. The area under the time-effect curve from preinjury to 4 weeks after nerve injury values were significantly higher in animals treated with 4 mg/kg of meloxicam compared with animals treated with vehicle.
Conclusion:
Systemic administration of 2 mg/kg and 4 mg/kg of meloxicam at an early stage after nerve injury attenuated the development of tactile allodynia. These results suggest that COX-2 may be at least in part involved in the development of tactile allodynia in an L5 single spinal-nerve injury model.
