AIM To investigate the involvement of L-type Ca(2+) channels in antinociceptive action induced by the 5-HT precursor, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). METHODS Female Kunming mice were treated with either 5-HTP (20-80 mg/kg, ip) alone, or the combination of 5-HTP and fluoxetine (2-8 mg/kg, ip), pargyline (15-60 mg/kg, ip), nimodipine (2.5-10 mg/kg, ip), nifedipine (2.5-10 mg/kg, ip), verapamil (2....

Pleiotrophin (PTN) is a growth factor that exhibits neurotrophic actions and is upregulated at sites of nerve injury. Upregulation of PTN levels in injured dorsal root ganglion correlates with decreased mechanical allodynia and faster recovery from Chronic Constriction Injury of the rat sciatic nerve. Despite the evidence pointing to a role of PTN in the development of chronic pain, the role of...

Methods for reliable evaluation of spinal cord (SC) injury in rats at short periods (2 and 24 h) after lesion were tested to characterize the mechanisms implicated in primary SC damage. We measured the physiological changes occurring after several procedures for producing SC injury, with particular emphasis on sensorimotor functions. Segmental and suprasegmental reflexes were tested in 39 male ...

Neurotropin is a nonprotein extract isolated from inflamed skin of rabbits inoculated with vaccinia virus, and used for treatment of neuropathic pain. In the present study, we have determined whether neurotropin could exert antinociceptive action using the central neuropathic pain model that we recently established. Rats were randomly allocated to 3 groups: Sham group (n=20), DSP-4 [N-(-2-chlor...

light-weight and high strength alloys such as al-mg alloys are used in order to reduce the weight of industrial components. however these materials should be formed at elevated temperatures due to their poor formability at room temperature. hot metal gas forming is one of the high-tech forming processes that is used to solve this problem. recent investigation on tube hydroforming showed positiv...

a comparison of buckling analysis of the nanoplate and nanocomposite plate with central square hole embedded in winkler foundation is presented in this article. in order to enhance mechanical properties of nanoplate with central cut out, carbon nano tubes (cnts) are applied as uniform distribution (ud) through thickness direction. in order to define the shape function of plate with square cut o...