The neurochemical mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain (NP) are related to peripheral and central sensitization caused by the release of inflammatory mediators in the peripheral damaged tissue and ectopic discharges from the injured nerve, leading to a hyperexcitable state of spinal dorsal horn neurons. The aim of this work was to clarify the role played by cyclooxygenase (COX) in the lesioned peripheral nerve in the development and maintenance of NP by evaluating at which moment the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin, a non-selective COX inhibitor, attenuated mechanical allodynia after placing one loose ligature around the nervus ischiadicus, an adaptation of Bennett and Xie's model in rodents. NP was induced in male Wistar rats by subjecting them to chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the nervus ischiadicus, placing one loose ligature around the peripheral nerve, and a sham surgery (without CCI) was used as control. Indomethacin (2 mg/kg) or vehicle was intraperitoneally and acutely administered in each group of rats and at different time windows (1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days) after the CCI or sham surgical procedures, followed by von Frey's test for 30 min. The data showed that indomethacin decreased the mechanical allodynia threshold of rats on the first, second, and fourth days after CCI (P<0.05). These findings suggested that inflammatory mechanisms are involved in the induction of NP and that COX-1 and COX-2 are involved in the induction but not in the maintenance of NP.

Dor é uma experiência pessoal e subjetiva que pode apenas ser sentida pelo sofredor. A dor aguda tem a finalidade de avisar o indivíduo que algo está errado. Contudo, a dor crônica (DC) é um problema global de saúde, que afeta a qualidade de vida e torna o indivíduo parcial ou totalmente incapacitado. A pesquisa básica utiliza diversos modelos animais para o estudo da dor aguda ou crônica, bem como para o estudo das principais comorbidades oriundas de sua cronificação como a ansiedade e a depressão. Esta revisão aborda os modelos animais mais comumente utilizados neste contexto.

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