TY - JOUR
T1 - Salivary Endocannabinoid Profiles in Chronic Orofacial Pain and Headache Disorders
T2 - An Observational Study Using a Novel Tool for Diagnosis and Management
AU - Heiliczer, Shimrit
AU - Wilensky, Asaf
AU - Gaver, Tal
AU - Georgiev, Olga
AU - Hamad, Sharleen
AU - Nemirovski, Alina
AU - Hadar, Rivka
AU - Sharav, Yair
AU - Aframian, Doron J.
AU - Tam, Joseph
AU - Haviv, Yaron
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2022/10/27
Y1 - 2022/10/27
N2 - The endocannabinoid system is involved in physiological and pathological processes, including pain generation, modulation, and sensation. Its role in certain types of chronic orofacial pain (OFP) has not been thoroughly examined. By exploring the profiles of specific salivary endocannabinoids (eCBs) in individuals with different types of OFP, we evaluated their use as biomarkers and the influence of clinical parameters and pain characteristics on eCB levels. The salivary levels of anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG), and their endogenous breakdown product arachidonic acid (AA), as well as the eCB-like molecules N-palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and N-oleoylethanolamide (OEA), were assessed in 83 OFP patients and 43 pain-free controls using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Patients were grouped by diagnosis: post-traumatic neuropathy (PTN), trigeminal neuralgia (TN), temporomandibular disorder (TMD), migraine, tension-type headache (TTH), and burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Correlation analyses between a specific diagnosis, pain characteristics, and eCB levels were conducted. Significantly lower levels of 2-AG were found in the TN and TTH groups, while significantly lower PEA levels were found in the migraine group. BMS was the only group with elevated eCBs (AEA) versus the control. Significant correlations were found between levels of specific eCBs and gender, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), BMI, pain duration, and sleep awakenings. In conclusion, salivary samples exhibited signature eCBs profiles for major OFP disorders, especially migraine, TTH, TN, and BMS. This finding may pave the way for using salivary eCBs biomarkers for more accurate diagnoses and management of chronic OFP patients.
AB - The endocannabinoid system is involved in physiological and pathological processes, including pain generation, modulation, and sensation. Its role in certain types of chronic orofacial pain (OFP) has not been thoroughly examined. By exploring the profiles of specific salivary endocannabinoids (eCBs) in individuals with different types of OFP, we evaluated their use as biomarkers and the influence of clinical parameters and pain characteristics on eCB levels. The salivary levels of anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG), and their endogenous breakdown product arachidonic acid (AA), as well as the eCB-like molecules N-palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and N-oleoylethanolamide (OEA), were assessed in 83 OFP patients and 43 pain-free controls using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Patients were grouped by diagnosis: post-traumatic neuropathy (PTN), trigeminal neuralgia (TN), temporomandibular disorder (TMD), migraine, tension-type headache (TTH), and burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Correlation analyses between a specific diagnosis, pain characteristics, and eCB levels were conducted. Significantly lower levels of 2-AG were found in the TN and TTH groups, while significantly lower PEA levels were found in the migraine group. BMS was the only group with elevated eCBs (AEA) versus the control. Significant correlations were found between levels of specific eCBs and gender, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), BMI, pain duration, and sleep awakenings. In conclusion, salivary samples exhibited signature eCBs profiles for major OFP disorders, especially migraine, TTH, TN, and BMS. This finding may pave the way for using salivary eCBs biomarkers for more accurate diagnoses and management of chronic OFP patients.
KW - 2-AG
KW - anandamide
KW - chronic pain
KW - endocannabinoids
KW - migraine
KW - neuropathic pain
KW - orofacial pain
KW - saliva
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141642811&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijms232113017
DO - 10.3390/ijms232113017
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C2 - 36361803
AN - SCOPUS:85141642811
SN - 1661-6596
VL - 23
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
IS - 21
M1 - 13017
ER -