Neuropathic pain
Authors:
Natalie Percie du Sert
A S C. Rice
Publication:
British Journal of Pharmacology 161, 749-754
Publish Date:
16 February 2014
Background
Because pain is a subjective experience, its assessment in humans depends entirely on self-reported measures of its presence, nature, location, and intensity. This inherent subjectivity means pain cannot be directly measured in animals; instead, researchers infer it through observable behaviours. This presents a unique challenge for animal models, which are used not only for predicting the clinical efficacy required to justify human trials but also for earlier stages of drug development, such as understanding disease mechanisms and identifying drug targets.
Summary
This review addresses the shortcomings of widely used rodent models used in analgesic development, particularly in those on neuropathic pain. This paper proposes specific approaches to enhance the model predictivity. This includes incorporating more clinically relevant assays, outcome measures, and animal characteristics. In addition, the methodological quality of animal studies needs to improve. When studies have low internal validity or incomplete reporting, it leads to a waste of valuable research resources and animal lives, preventing an accurate assessment of how well these in vivo models actually predict clinical outcomes.
Key Actions
- Choose the right model.
- Refine outcome measures to capture spontaneous pain and comorbidities.
- Refine model chronicity and treatment regimens.
Further questions
Authors
Natalie Percie du Sert - National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
A S C Rice - Imperial College London; Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust