Stress-induced pain: a target for the development of novel therapeutics.

Abstract

Although current therapeutics provide relief from acute pain, drugs used for treatment of chronic pain are typically less efficacious and limited by adverse side effects, including tolerance, addiction, and gastrointestinal upset. Thus, there is a significant need for novel therapies for the treatment of chronic pain. In concert with chronic pain, persistent stress facilitates pain perception and sensitizes pain pathways, leading to a feed-forward cycle promoting chronic pain disorders. Stress exacerbation of chronic pain suggests that centrally acting drugs targeting the pain- and stress-responsive brain regions represent a valid target for the development of novel therapeutics. This review provides an overview of how stress modulates spinal and central pain pathways, identifies key neurotransmitters and receptors within these pathways, and highlights their potential as novel targets for therapeutics to treat chronic pain.

• Authors: Anthony C Johnson, Beverley Greenwood-Van Meerveld
• Journal: The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics (J Pharmacol Exp Ther) Vol. 351 Issue 2 Pg. 327-35 (Nov 2014) ISSN: 1521-0103 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25194019 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Review)
• Copyright: U.S. Government work not protected by U.S. copyright.

Chemical References

• Analgesics, Opioid
• Neurotransmitter Agents

Topics

• Analgesics, Opioid (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Animals
• Brain (metabolism, physiopathology)
• Chronic Pain (drug therapy, metabolism, physiopathology)
• Humans
• Neurotransmitter Agents (metabolism)
• Nociceptors (metabolism)
• Stress, Psychological (physiopathology)