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Related Concept Videos

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Nociception

Nociception—the ability to feel pain—is essential for an organism’s survival and overall well-being. Noxious stimuli such as piercing pain from a sharp object, heat from an open flame, or contact with corrosive chemicals are first detected by sensory receptors, called nociceptors, located on nerve endings. Nociceptors express ion channels that convert noxious stimuli into electrical signals. When these signals reach the brain via sensory neurons, they are perceived as pain. Thus, pain helps the...
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Analgesia and Pain Management01:25

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Pain is critical to various clinical pathologies, provoking an urgent need for effective management. Pain, whether acute or chronic, is a complex neurochemical process. Its alleviation depends on the type, with nonopioid analgesics effective for mild to moderate pain, such as musculoskeletal or inflammatory pain, while neuropathic pain responds best to anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, or serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. For severe acute or chronic pain, opioids may be...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Rapid Isolation of Dorsal Root Ganglion Macrophages
07:22

Rapid Isolation of Dorsal Root Ganglion Macrophages

Published on: September 7, 2019

Microglia and neuropathic pain.

Kazuhide Inoue1, Makoto Tsuda

  • 1Department of Molecular and System Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. inoue@phar.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Glia
|March 24, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Microglia, the brain's immune cells, play a key role in neuropathic pain after nerve injury. Understanding these cells' mechanisms could lead to new pain relief drugs.

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The Sciatic Nerve Cuffing Model of Neuropathic Pain in Mice
07:09

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Published on: July 16, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Immunology
  • Pain Research

Background:

  • Pathological pain, unlike physiological pain, occurs without tissue damage.
  • Neuropathic pain, often resulting from nerve injury or diseases like diabetes, is severe and treatment-resistant.
  • Microglia, central nervous system immune cells, are increasingly implicated in neuropathic pain development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent advances in understanding neuropathic pain mechanisms.
  • To focus on the role of microglia-expressed molecules in pain hypersensitivity.
  • To explore potential therapeutic targets for neuropathic pain treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current scientific literature on neuropathic pain and microglia.
  • Analysis of microglia-expressed molecules (receptors, signaling molecules, factors).
  • Examination of their involvement in nerve injury-induced pain behaviors and neuronal hyperexcitability.

Main Results:

  • Evidence strongly suggests microglia are causally involved in neuropathic pain.
  • Specific microglia-expressed molecules contribute to pain hypersensitivity.
  • Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for developing new pain therapies.

Conclusions:

  • Spinal microglia are key players in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain.
  • Further research into microglia-mediated pathways offers promising avenues for novel drug development.
  • Elucidating these mechanisms provides critical insights into pain processing.