| Objective: To investigate the effect of Flupirtin on analgesia and sympathetic sprouting inthe dorsal root ganglion of rats after spinal nerve ligation (SNL).Methods: Eighteen health adult male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing250-350gram wererandomly divided into three groups, six rats in each group, including sham group (group S),control group (group C) and flupirtin group (group F). The neuropathic pain model wasdeveloped by ligating the L5spinal nerve. In group S, the L5spinal nerve was exposed butnot ligated. In group C and F the L5spinal nerve was exposed and ligated. The rats ingroup S and group C received saline2mL/kg and the rats in group F received Flupirtin5mg/kg via intraperitoneal injection daily for seven days after the surgery. Pain thresholdwas estimated by measuring paw withdrawal pressure threshold (PWPT) and latency (PWL)at3days before surgery (baseline) and1,3,5,7d after surgery. The rats were terminated onthe7th day after surgery and the L5dorsal root ganglion of all rats were removed toobserve the change of basket formation by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)immune-fluorescence staining. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version18.0,and p-values of <0.05were considered significant. Results:(1) PWPT and PWL in group C were significantly lower than those in group Swithin1-7days after surgery (P <0.05).(2) Compared with group C, the PWPT and PWLin group F were significantly improved from the third day after surgery (P <0.05).(3)After Flupirtin treatment, the number of basket formation in the L5dorsal root ganglion ofthe operated side was prominently decreased compared with group C on the7th day (P <0.05).Conclusion: Flupirtin may relieve neuropathic pain by reducing sympathetic fibersprouting within dorsal root ganglion. |
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