Topical gabapentin gel alleviates allodynia and hyperalgesia in the chronic sciatic nerve constriction injury neuropathic pain model

Shahid, M., Subhan, F., Ahmad, N., Ali, G., Akbar, S., Fawad, K. and Sewell, Robert David Edmund 2017. Topical gabapentin gel alleviates allodynia and hyperalgesia in the chronic sciatic nerve constriction injury neuropathic pain model. European Journal of Pain 21 (4) , pp. 668-680. 10.1002/ejp.971

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Abstract

Background: Systemic gabapentin is a mainstay treatment for neuropathic pain though there are side effects. Localized therapy may curtail such side effects so a topical gabapentin dermal application was examined in the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model of neuropathic pain. Methods: Partial denervation CCI was achieved by rat sciatic nerve ligation. Gabapentin gel (10% w/w) was applied three-times daily on the ipsilateral or contralateral plantar surface of the hind-paw while in a concurrent systemic study, gabapentin was intraperitoneally administered daily (75 mg/kg) for 30 days. Tests for static- and dynamic- mechano-allodynia (paw withdrawal threshold [PWT] to von-Frey filament application and latency [PWL] to light brushing), coldallodynia (paw withdrawal duration [PWD] to acetone), heat- (PWL and PWD) and mechanohyperalgesia (PWD to pin-prick) were utilized to assess pain while effects on locomotion (open field) and motor balance (rotarod and footprint-analysis) were measured on days 5-30 postsurgery. Results: Topical application of gabapentin gel ipsilaterally but not contralaterally alleviated CCI-induced static- (days 10-30) and dynamic-allodynia (days 15-30), suppressed cold-allodynia (days 10-30), heat- (days 15-30) and mechano-hyperalgesia (days 5-30) indicating a local action. Systemic gabapentin exhibited similar pain profiles but was associated with motor impairment. The gabapentin gel formulation afforded desirable neuropathic pain alleviating effects devoid of unwanted systemic side-effects. Conclusions: These outcomes disclose an expedient pharmacological validation of the effectiveness of topical gabapentin gel against an extensive range of nociceptive stimulus modalities utilizing the CCI-induced neuropathic pain model. They also advocate further clinical studies on topical gabapentin with regard to certain neuropathic pain syndromes.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Pharmacy
Subjects:	R Medicine > RS Pharmacy and materia medica
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Gabapentin gel; neuropathic pain; allodynia and hyperalgesia; localized therapy, no motor impairment
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1090-3801
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 February 2017
Date of Acceptance:	21 September 2016
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 04:06
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/98465

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