Statins for neuropathic pain

Paclitaxel, a widely used cancer chemotherapeutic agent, has high incidence of neurotoxicity associated with the production of neuropathic pain, for which only duloxetine has shown significant but moderate analgesic effect. Since statins, classically used to reduce hypercholesterolemia, have shown antinociceptive effect in preclinical studies on neuropathic pain, we studied whether the antinociceptive efficacy of duloxetine could be synergistically potentiated by rosuvastatin in a model of paclitaxel-induced neuropathy in mice...

AIMS: Diabetic neuropathy has been identified as a common complication caused by diabetes. However, its pathophysiological mechanisms are not fully understood yet. Statins, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, alleviate the production of cholesterol. Despite this cholesterol-reducing effect of statins, several reports have demonstrated their beneficial properties in neuropathic pain. In this study, we used streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic model to investigate the possible role of nitric oxide (NO) in the antineuropathic-like effect of atorvastatin...

The frequently prescribed drug class of statins have pleiotropic effects and have been implicated in neuropathic pain syndromes. This narrative review examines studies of statin-induced neuropathic pain which to date have been conducted only in animal models. However, the pathophysiology of diabetic neuropathy in humans may shed some light on the etiology of neuropathic pain. Statins have exhibited a paradoxical effect in that statins appear to reduce neuropathic pain in animals but have been associated with neuropathic pain in humans...

BACKGROUND: Neuropathic pain (NP) is an important public health problem and despite recent progress in the understanding, diagnosis, pathophysiological mechanisms and the treatment of NP, many patients remain refractory to pharmacotherapy. OBJECTIVE: Currently used drugs have limited efficacy and dose-limiting adverse effects, and thus there is a substantial need for further development of novel medications for its treatment. Alternatively, drugs approved for use in diseases other than NP can be applied as experimental for NP conditions...

BACKGROUND: Neuropathic pain, and subsequent hypernociception, can be induced in mice by paclitaxel (PTX) administration and partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL). Its pharmacotherapy has been a clinical challenge, due to a lack of effective treatment. In two models of mouse neuropathic pain (PTX and PSNL) the antinociception induced by rosuvastatin and the participation of proinflammatory biomarkers, interleukin (IL)- 1β, TBARS and glutathione were evaluated. METHODS: A dose-response curve for rosuvastatin ip was obtained on cold plate, hot plate and Von Frey assays...

Recent studies suggested that statins have anti-inflammatory effects beyond their lipid-lowering properties. In the present study, we sought to investigate whether rosuvastatin could alleviate morphine tolerance by attenuating the glia mediated neuroinflammation in the spinal cord. Using a rat model of L5 spinal nerve transection, on day 8 after surgery morphine (10 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously twice daily for consecutive 10 days. On day 13, with the establishment of morphine tolerance, rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg) was given o...

UNLABELLED: Several recent studies have revealed that statins exert anti-inflammatory effects in addition to their lipid-lowering property in vivo and in vitro. Recently, statins were shown to alleviate pain associated trauma in a neuropathic pain model. The aim of the present study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms of analgesia caused by the lipophilic statin simvastatin in an animal model of formalin-induced pain in the rat. Intrathecal pretreatment with simvastatin significantly attenuated the second phase of the acute nociceptive response to formalin injection, and daily administration of simvastatin for 7 days inhibited the long-term mechanical hyperalgesia caused by formalin injection...

INTRODUCTION: Managing neuropathic pain can be very challenging, with standard medical therapies often providing inadequate relief. It has recently been reported in the literature that statins alleviate neuropathic pain in the rat model. We present a case report in which an above-the-knee amputee achieved relief of his neuropathic stump pain with atorvastatin. CASE REPORT: We describe the case of a 50-year-old man with a 12-year history of chronic neuropathic stump pain and sporadic phantom limb pain following an above-the-knee amputation...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Chronic pain syndromes are reported to be common after stroke, but most previous epidemiological studies have generally included small cohorts of patients with relatively short-term follow-up. In a large cohort with ischemic stroke (Prevention Regimen for Effectively avoiding Second Stroke [PRoFESS] trial), we determined the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical consequence of new poststroke pain syndromes. METHODS: Within the PRoFESS trial (mean follow-up 2...

PURPOSE: We sought to determine whether a case of rhabdomyolysis was a probable adverse reaction associated with pregabalin (Lyrica) and simvastatin (Zocor). Pregabalin is not recognized as a cause of rhabdomyolysis, but statins are known to cause it. PATIENT SUMMARY: A 70-year-old man with a history of fibromyalgia, type-2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and chronic back pain presented to the emergency department with altered mental status, limb weakness, twitching, and slurred speech...

Statins, belonging to a well-known drug class used for lowering cholesterol through competitive inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, also have other pleiotropic properties, such as anti-inflammatory action. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of simvastatin in five models of nociceptive behaviour. Oral gavage administration of simvastatin induced a dose-dependent inhibition of nociception for 1 day in the acetic acid writhing (ED(50) = 5...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The statins are a well-established class of drugs that lower plasma cholesterol levels by inhibiting HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A) reductase. They are widely used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and for the prevention of coronary heart disease. Recent studies suggest that statins have anti-inflammatory effects beyond their lipid-lowering properties. We sought to investigate whether statins could affect neuropathic pain by mediating nerve injury-associated inflammatory responses...

INTRODUCTION: Fabry's disease is a consequence of the deficiency of lysosomal alpha-galactosidase A, which gives rise to excessive depositing of glycosphingolipids in endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells in vessels, podocytes, neurons, etc. The symptoms begin in childhood, with neuropathic pain, and progress towards kidney and heart failure, as well as cerebro-vascular accidents from the third decade of life onwards. DEVELOPMENT: This review presents the changes in the pathophysiological concepts that have been acquired in the nine years since enzyme replacement therapy started to be employed...