Neuropathic pain remains as one of the most difficult clinical pain syndromes to treat. Electroacupuncture (EA), involving\r\nendogenous opioids and neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS), is reported to be clinically efficacious in various\r\nfields of pain. Although multiple experimental articles were conducted to assess the effect of EA-induced analgesia, no review has\r\nbeen published to assess the efficacy and clarify the mechanism of EA on neuropathic pain. To this aim, this study was firstly\r\ndesigned to evaluate the EA-induced analgesic effect on neuropathic pain and secondly to guide and help future efforts to advance\r\nthe neuropathic pain treatment. For this purpose, articles referring to the analgesic effect of acupuncture on neuropathic pain and\r\nparticularly the work performed in our own laboratory were analyzed. Based on the articles reviewed, the role of spinal opioidergic,\r\nadrenergic, serotonergic, cholinergic, and GABAergic receptors in themechanism of EA-induced analgesia was studied.The results\r\nof this research demonstrate that �µ and d opioid receptors, a2-adrenoreceptors, 5-HT1A and 5-HT3 serotonergic receptors, M1\r\nmuscarinic receptors, and GABAA and GABAB GABAergic receptors are involved in the mechanisms of EA-induced analgesia on\r\nneuropathic pain.
Loading....