Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026

A Preterm Rat Model for Pain Studies
Published on: February 9, 2024
Preemptive levetiracetam decreases postoperative pain in rats
Jiri Sliva1, Tomas Dolezal, Michaela Prochazkova
1Department of Pharmacology, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. slivaj@seznam.cz
Objectives:
Preemptive versus therapeutic effects of levetiracetam were investigated in a model of postoperative incisional pain in rats.
Methods:
Levetiracetam (250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg intraperitoneal (i.p.) or morphine (5 mg/kg i.p.) was administered either 1 h before (preemptive administration) or 1 h after (therapeutic administration) incisional surgery to the hind paw of rats. The effects of levetiracetam were evaluated based on thermal hyperalgesia measured by the plantar test.
Results:
All preoperatively treated levetiracetam groups showed a significant, dose dependent, increase in paw withdrawal latency. However, post-incisional administration of levetiracetam produced no antihyperalgesic effect at any dose or at any time. In contrast, post-incisional administration of morphine reduced thermal hyperalgesia, while preemptive administration of morphine did not produce any significant antihyperalgesic effects.
Conclusion:
The present results suggest that levetiracetam might possess preemptive analgesic activity.
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