Alpha lipoic acid attenuates evoked and spontaneous pain following surgical skin incision in rats. Issue 1 (1st January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Joksimovic, Sonja Lj.; Lamborn, Nathan; Jevtovic-Todorovic, Vesna; Todorovic, Slobodan M.
• Is Part Of: Channels. Volume 15:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 398
• Page End: 407
• Publication Date: 2021-01-01
• Subjects: Postsurgical pain -- T-type calcium channel -- acute pain -- Alpha lipoic acid -- novel analgesics; Ion channels -- Periodicals; 572.3
• DOI: 10.1080/19336950.2021.1907058
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1933-6950

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Our previous studies have implicated CaV 3.2 isoform of T-type Ca2+ channels (T-channels) in the development of postsurgical pain. We have also previously established that different T-channel antagonists can alleviate in vivo postsurgical pain. Here we investigated the analgesic potential of another T-channel blocker and endogenous antioxidant molecule, α-lipoic acid (ALA), in a postsurgical pain model in rats. Our in vivo results suggest that single and repetitive intraperitoneal injections of ALA after surgery or preemptively, significantly reduced evoked mechanical hyperalgesia following surgical paw incision. Furthermore, repeated preemptive systemic injections of ALA effectively alleviated spontaneous postsurgical pain as determined by dynamic weight-bearing testing. We expect that our preclinical study may lead to further investigation of analgesic properties and mechanisms of analgesic action of ALA in patients undergoing surgery.