Pain is a dynamic phenomenon, in which the various pathophysiologic mechanisms can change its characteristics and its consequences. On this basis, pain can be classified as physiologic (protective, adaptive), inflammatory (acute - protective, adaptive - or persistent - maladaptive) and neuropathic (maladaptive, chronic, pathologic) pain. Pain is the result of at least four, distinct physiologic processes: 1. Transduction of a noxious stimulus into an electrical message by nociceptors. 2. Transmission of the message from the nociceptors to the spinal cord, from the spinal cord to the thalamus, reticular formation and brainstem and from these sites to the somatosensory cortex. 3. Modulation of the message as it passes across the synapses in the spinal cord, thalamus and other areas of the midbrain and brainstem. 4. Integration of the above series of electrochemical events, resulting in the final experience of pain perception. Analgesic drugs act by targeting these specific steps within the pain pathway. Knowledge of the biologic processes underlying pain is essential for a correct pharmacological approach. Indeed, pain therapy in animals as in humans should follow an approach based on the pathophysiologic mechanisms of pain, which also justify a multimodal, preventive approach
NEUROPHARMACOLOGY OF ANIMAL PAIN: A MECHANISM-BASED THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
CATANZARO, ALICE;DI SALVO, Alessandra;DELLA ROCCA, Giorgia
2014
Abstract
Pain is a dynamic phenomenon, in which the various pathophysiologic mechanisms can change its characteristics and its consequences. On this basis, pain can be classified as physiologic (protective, adaptive), inflammatory (acute - protective, adaptive - or persistent - maladaptive) and neuropathic (maladaptive, chronic, pathologic) pain. Pain is the result of at least four, distinct physiologic processes: 1. Transduction of a noxious stimulus into an electrical message by nociceptors. 2. Transmission of the message from the nociceptors to the spinal cord, from the spinal cord to the thalamus, reticular formation and brainstem and from these sites to the somatosensory cortex. 3. Modulation of the message as it passes across the synapses in the spinal cord, thalamus and other areas of the midbrain and brainstem. 4. Integration of the above series of electrochemical events, resulting in the final experience of pain perception. Analgesic drugs act by targeting these specific steps within the pain pathway. Knowledge of the biologic processes underlying pain is essential for a correct pharmacological approach. Indeed, pain therapy in animals as in humans should follow an approach based on the pathophysiologic mechanisms of pain, which also justify a multimodal, preventive approachI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
