Tissue damage, inflammation or injury of the nervous system may result in chronic
neuropathic pain characterised by increased sensitivity to painful stimuli (hyperalgesia), the …

Although pain is regarded traditionally as neuronally mediated, recent progress shows an
important role of spinal glial cells in persistent pain sensitization. Mounting evidence has …

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) plays an
important role in neuropathic pain. Recently, it has been shown that Lumbar 5 ventral root …

Satellite glial cells (SGCs) tightly envelop the perikarya of primary sensory neurons in
peripheral ganglion and are identified by their morphology and the presence of proteins not …

An injury often starts with acute physiological pain, which becomes inflammatory or
neuropathic, and may sometimes become chronic. It has been proposed recently that …

Aldosterone stimulates the sympathetic nervous system by binding to a select population of
brain mineralocorticoid receptors (MR). These MR have an equal affinity for corticosterone …

Background Partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL) produces axonal damage, a local
inflammatory response, and wallerian degeneration. Cytokines secreted near the site of …

The complex regional pain syndromes (CRPS I and CRPS II), also known as reflex
sympathetic dystrophy and causalgia, have been recognized for the past 2,500 years and …

Background Recent work has indicated an increasingly complex role for astrocytes in the
central nervous system. Astrocytes are now known to exchange information with neurons at …

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the role of glial cells in normal physiology and
pathophysiology, particularly as it relates to pain. It emphasizes on microglia and astrocytes …