Chronic pain is maintained in part by central sensitization, a phenomenon of synaptic
plasticity, and increased neuronal responsiveness in central pain pathways after painful …

Astrocytes are critical for maintaining the homeostasis of the CNS. Increasing evidence
suggests that a number of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including chronic …

Activation of glial cells and neuro–glial interactions are emerging as key mechanisms
underlying chronic pain. Accumulating evidence has implicated 3 types of glial cells in the …

Immune cells and glia interact with neurons to alter pain sensitivity and to mediate the
transition from acute to chronic pain. In response to injury, resident immune cells are …

Chronic pain resulting from nerve injury, tissue inflammation, and tumor invasion or
treatment, is a major health problem impacting the quality of life and producing a significant …

In the central nervous system (CNS), astrocytes form networks interconnected by gap
junctions made from connexins of the subtypes Cx30 and Cx43. When unopposed by an …

Clinical management of chronic pain after nerve injury (neuropathic pain) and tumor
invasion (cancer pain) is a real challenge due to our limited understanding of the cellular …

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are germline-encoded pattern-recognition receptors that initiate
innate immune responses by recognizing molecular structures shared by a wide range of …

Chronic pain, both inflammatory and neuropathic, is a debilitating condition in which the
pain experience persists after the painful stimulus has resolved. The efficacy of current …

Itch and pain are closely related but distinct sensations. They share largely overlapping
mediators and receptors, and itch-responding neurons are also sensitive to pain stimuli. Itch …