Pramipexole treatment attenuates mechanical hypersensitivity in male rats experiencing chronic inflammatory pain.

ABSTRACT: Opioids are commonly prescribed for pain despite growing evidence of their low efficacy in the treatment of chronic inflammatory pain and the high potential for misuse. There is a clear need to investigate non-opioid alternatives for the treatment of pain. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that acute and repeated dopamine agonist treatment would attenuate mechanical hypersensitivity in male Long-Evans rats experiencing chronic inflammatory pain. We used two clinically available therapeutics, l-DOPA (precursor of dopamine biosynthesis) and pramipexole (dopamine D2/3 receptor agonist), to examine the functional role of dopamine signaling on mechanical hypersensitivity using an animal model of chronic inflammatory pain (complete Freund's adjuvant, CFA). We found that both acute a

SUBMITTER: Edwards S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10171400 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature