Paroxetine engenders analgesic effects through inhibition of p38 phosphorylation in a rat migraine model

Chuanming Wang; Wei Bi; Yanran Liang; Xiuna Jing; Songhua Xiao; Yannan Fang; Qiaoyun Shi; Enxiang Tao

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2012.13.007

Paroxetine engenders analgesic effects through inhibition of p38 phosphorylation in a rat migraine model

Neural Regen Res. 2012 May 5;7(13):1006-12. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2012.13.007.

Authors

Chuanming Wang¹, Wei Bi², Yanran Liang¹, Xiuna Jing¹, Songhua Xiao¹, Yannan Fang³, Qiaoyun Shi⁴, Enxiang Tao¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong Province, China.
² Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China.
³ Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China.
⁴ Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, China.

PMID: 25722689
PMCID: PMC4341271
DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2012.13.007

Abstract

In this study, a model of migraine was established by electrical stimulation of the superior sagittal sinus in rats. These rats were then treated orally with paroxetine at doses of 2.5, 5, or 10 mg/kg per day for 14 days. Following treatment, mechanical withdrawal thresholds were significantly higher, extracellular concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the periaqueductal grey matter and nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis were higher, and the expression of phosphorylated p38 in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis was lower. Our experimental findings suggest that paroxetine has analgesic effects in a rat migraine model, which are mediated by inhibition of p38 phosphorylation.

Keywords: 5-hydroxytryptamine; migraine; neural regeneration; p38; paroxetine; phosphorylation.