Beyond reproduction: the role of progesterone in neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

S.L. GONZALEZ; M.F. CORONEL

NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH

SHENYANG EDITORIAL DEPT NEURAL REGENERATION RES

Año: 2016 vol. 11 p. 1238 - 1240

1673-5374

Neuropathic pain, a type of pain arising after direct damage or disease of the nervous system, is often intractable and challenges the search of effective therapeutic strategies. In particular, neuropathic pain is a very frequent sequel of spinal cord injury (SCI) and a decisive contributor to decreased quality of life. Several and intricate mechanisms appear to be involved in the onset and maintenance of neuropathic pain after SCI. However, it is only within the last years that neuroinflammatory consequences of SCI have been linked to the stubborn pain that these patients may suffer.A main concern after SCI is that general suppression of inflammation may impair regeneration and repair in the spinal cord. These concepts challenge the development of novel strategies aimed at reducing pain without interfering with functional outcomes.Based upon an active research over the past decades, it is now a well-consolidated concept that progesterone, beyond its recognized role in reproduction, acts as a neurosteroid/neuroactive steroid with multiple and diverse functions in the nervous system. These functions, comprising neuroprotection, myelin formation, control of inflammation, regulation of glial cell function and neurotransmission, have been recently extended to the modulation of pain sensitivity.