TY - JOUR
T1 - Ectopic adrenergic sensitivity in damaged peripheral nerve axons in the rat
AU - Korenman, Ernesto M.D.
AU - Devor, Marshall
PY - 1981/4
Y1 - 1981/4
N2 - Single-fiber recordings were made of impulses generated ectopically in nerve end neuromas. Most spontaneously active sensory fibers and some otherwise silent sensory fibers responded to adrenergic agonists injected close arterially or into the general circulation by way of the jugular vein. There was α-adrenergic pharmacology. Motor fibers were insensitive. To obtain equivalent neural responses, an intravenous dose about 10 times the close arterial dose was required. Many neuroma fibers responded to local ischemia. The response to adrenalin, however, could still be demonstrated in ischemic neuromas. The effect of adrenergic stimulation is therefore not due solely to a local change of blood flow. Tetanic stimulation of the preganglionic sympathetic column altered neuroma discharge in both intact and adrenalectomized rats in the same way that systemic adrenalin did. The results support the hypothesis that damaged sensory axons develop ectopic α-adrenergic receptors that render them sensitive to sympathetic activity. This might explain the success of surgical and chemical sympathectomy in alleviating pain in some cases of peripheral nerve injury.
AB - Single-fiber recordings were made of impulses generated ectopically in nerve end neuromas. Most spontaneously active sensory fibers and some otherwise silent sensory fibers responded to adrenergic agonists injected close arterially or into the general circulation by way of the jugular vein. There was α-adrenergic pharmacology. Motor fibers were insensitive. To obtain equivalent neural responses, an intravenous dose about 10 times the close arterial dose was required. Many neuroma fibers responded to local ischemia. The response to adrenalin, however, could still be demonstrated in ischemic neuromas. The effect of adrenergic stimulation is therefore not due solely to a local change of blood flow. Tetanic stimulation of the preganglionic sympathetic column altered neuroma discharge in both intact and adrenalectomized rats in the same way that systemic adrenalin did. The results support the hypothesis that damaged sensory axons develop ectopic α-adrenergic receptors that render them sensitive to sympathetic activity. This might explain the success of surgical and chemical sympathectomy in alleviating pain in some cases of peripheral nerve injury.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0019422715&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0014-4886(81)90127-8
DO - 10.1016/0014-4886(81)90127-8
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C2 - 6258961
AN - SCOPUS:0019422715
SN - 0014-4886
VL - 72
SP - 63
EP - 81
JO - Experimental Neurology
JF - Experimental Neurology
IS - 1
ER -