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Pușcașu C, Negreș S, Zbârcea CE, Ungurianu A, Ștefănescu E, Blebea NM, Chiriță C. Evaluating the Antihyperalgesic Potential of Sildenafil-Metformin Combination and Its Impact on Biochemical Markers in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Neuropathy in Rats. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:783. [PMID: 38931450 PMCID: PMC11206800 DOI: 10.3390/ph17060783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2024] [Revised: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Globally, about 600 million people are afflicted with diabetes, and one of its most prevalent complications is neuropathy, a debilitating condition. At the present time, the exploration of novel therapies for alleviating diabetic-neuropathy-associated pain is genuinely captivating, considering that current therapeutic options are characterized by poor efficacy and significant risk of side effects. In the current research, we evaluated the antihyperalgesic effect the sildenafil (phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor)-metformin (antihyperglycemic agent) combination and its impact on biochemical markers in alloxan-induced diabetic neuropathy in rats. (2) Methods: This study involved a cohort of 70 diabetic rats and 10 non-diabetic rats. Diabetic neuropathy was induced by a single dose of 130 mg/kg alloxan. The rats were submitted to thermal stimulus test using a hot-cold plate and to tactile stimulus test using von Frey filaments. Moreover, at the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed and their brains and livers were collected to investigate the impact of this combination on TNF-α, IL-6, nitrites and thiols levels. (3) Results: The results demonstrated that all sildenafil-metformin combinations decreased the pain sensitivity in the von Frey test, hot plate test and cold plate test. Furthermore, alterations in nitrites and thiols concentrations and pro-inflammatory cytokines (specifically TNF-α and IL-6) were noted following a 15-day regimen of various sildenafil-metformin combinations. (4) Conclusions: The combination of sildenafil and metformin has a synergistic effect on alleviating pain in alloxan-induced diabetic neuropathy rats. Additionally, the combination effectively decreased inflammation, inhibited the rise in NOS activity, and provided protection against glutathione depletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ciprian Pușcașu
- Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania; (C.P.); (S.N.); (A.U.); (E.Ș.); (C.C.)
| | - Simona Negreș
- Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania; (C.P.); (S.N.); (A.U.); (E.Ș.); (C.C.)
| | - Cristina Elena Zbârcea
- Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania; (C.P.); (S.N.); (A.U.); (E.Ș.); (C.C.)
| | - Anca Ungurianu
- Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania; (C.P.); (S.N.); (A.U.); (E.Ș.); (C.C.)
| | - Emil Ștefănescu
- Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania; (C.P.); (S.N.); (A.U.); (E.Ș.); (C.C.)
| | - Nicoleta Mirela Blebea
- Faculty of Pharmacy, “Ovidius” University of Constanța, Căpitan Aviator Al. Şerbănescu 6, 900470 Constanța, Romania;
| | - Cornel Chiriță
- Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania; (C.P.); (S.N.); (A.U.); (E.Ș.); (C.C.)
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Barbosa LM, Valerio F, da Silva VA, Rodrigues ALDL, Galhardoni R, Yeng LT, Junior JR, Conforto AB, Lucato LT, Teixeira MJ, de Andrade DC. Corticomotor excitability is altered in central neuropathic pain compared with non-neuropathic pain or pain-free patients. Neurophysiol Clin 2023; 53:102845. [PMID: 36822032 DOI: 10.1016/j.neucli.2023.102845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Central neuropathic pain (CNP) is associated with altered corticomotor excitability (CE), which can potentially provide insights into its mechanisms. The objective of this study is to describe the CE changes that are specifically related to CNP. METHODS We evaluated CNP associated with brain injury after stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI) due to neuromyelitis optica through a battery of CE measurements and comprehensive pain, neurological, functional, and quality of life assessments. CNP was compared to two groups of patients with the same disease: i. with non-neuropathic pain and ii. without chronic pain, matched by sex and lesion location. RESULTS We included 163 patients (stroke=93; SCI=70: 74 had CNP, 43 had non-neuropathic pain, and 46 were pain-free). Stroke patients with CNP had lower motor evoked potential (MEP) in both affected and unaffected hemispheres compared to non- neuropathic pain and no-pain patients. Patients with CNP had lower amplitudes of MEPs (366 μV ±464 μV) than non-neuropathic (478 ±489) and no-pain (765 μV ± 880 μV) patients, p < 0.001. Short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) was defective (less inhibited) in patients with CNP (2.6±11.6) compared to no-pain (0.8±0.7), p = 0.021. MEPs negatively correlated with mechanical and cold-induced allodynia. Furthermore, classifying patients' results according to normative data revealed that at least 75% of patients had abnormalities in some CE parameters and confirmed MEP findings based on group analyses. DISCUSSION CNP is associated with decreased MEPs and SICI compared to non-neuropathic pain and no-pain patients. Corticomotor excitability changes may be helpful as neurophysiological markers of the development and persistence of pain after CNS injury, as they are likely to provide insights into global CE plasticity changes occurring after CNS lesions associated with CNP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana Mendonça Barbosa
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Neurology, University of São Paulo, 05403-900, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Valerio
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Ricardo Galhardoni
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lin Tchia Yeng
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jefferson Rosi Junior
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Neurology, University of São Paulo, 05403-900, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Daniel Ciampi de Andrade
- Department of Neurology, University of São Paulo, 05403-900, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, DK-9220, Aalborg, Denmark.
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Hoelz AG, Bernardes D, Cartarozzi LP, de Oliveira ALR. Gliosis attenuation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by a combination of dimethyl fumarate and pregabalin. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:921916. [PMID: 36052340 PMCID: PMC9426298 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.921916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysregulated microglia and astrocytes have been associated with progressive neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS), highlighting the need for strategies that additionally target intrinsic inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS). The objective of the present study was to investigate the glial response in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)-induced mice treated with a combination of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) and pregabalin (PGB). For that, 28 C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to the five experimental groups: naïve, EAE, EAE-DMF, EAE-PGB, and EAE-DMF + PGB. Pharmacological treatments were initiated with the beginning of clinical signs, and all animals were euthanized at 28 dpi for the lumbar spinal cord evaluation. The results demonstrated a stronger attenuation of the clinical presentation by the combined approach. DMF alone promoted the downregulation of Iba-1 (microglia/macrophages marker) in the ventral horn compared with the non-treated EAE animals (P < 0.05). PGB treatment was associated with reduced Iba-1 immunofluorescence in both the dorsal (P < 0.05) and ventral horn (P < 0.05) compared to EAE vehicle-treated counterparts. However, the combined approach reduced the Iba-1 marker in the dorsal (P < 0.05) and ventral (P < 0.01) horns compared to non-treated EAE animals and further reduced Iba-1 in the ventral horn compared to each drug-alone approach (P < 0.05). In addition, the combination of DMF and PGB reduced activated astrocytes (GFAP) in both the dorsal and ventral horns of the spinal cord to a naïve-like level and upregulated Nrf-2 expression. Taken together, the data herein suggest robust attenuation of the glial response in EAE mice treated with DMF and PGB.
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González-Matilla R, Abuín-Porras V, Casuso-Holgado MJ, Riquelme I, Heredia-Rizo AM. Effects of neural mobilization in disorders associated with chronic secondary musculoskeletal pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Clin Pract 2022; 49:101618. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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New updates on transcranial magnetic stimulation in chronic pain. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care 2022; 16:65-70. [DOI: 10.1097/spc.0000000000000591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Barbosa LM, da Silva VA, de Lima Rodrigues AL, Mendes Fernandes DTR, de Oliveira RAA, Galhardoni R, Yeng LT, Junior JR, Conforto AB, Lucato LT, Lemos MD, Peyron R, Garcia-Larrea L, Teixeira MJ, de Andrade DC. Dissecting central post-stroke pain: a controlled symptom-psychophysical characterization. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac090. [PMID: 35528229 PMCID: PMC9070496 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Central post-stroke pain affects up to 12% of stroke survivors and is notoriously refractory to treatment. However, stroke patients often suffer from other types of pain of non- neuropathic nature (musculoskeletal, inflammatory, complex regional) and no head-to-head comparison of their respective clinical and somatosensory profiles has been performed so far.
We compared 39 patients with definite central neuropathic post-stroke pain with two matched- control groups: 32 patients with exclusively non-neuropathic pain developed after stroke and 31 stroke patients not complaining of pain. Patients underwent deep phenotyping via a comprehensive assessment including clinical exam, questionnaires and quantitative sensory testing to dissect central post-stroke pain from chronic pain in general and stroke.
While central post-stroke pain was mostly located in the face and limbs, non-neuropathic pain was predominantly axial and located in neck, shoulders and knees (p<0.05). Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory clusters burning (82.1%, n=32, p<0.001), tingling (66.7%, n= 26, p<0.001) and evoked by cold (64.1%, n=25, p<0.001) occurred more frequently in central post-stroke pain. Hyperpathia, thermal and mechanical allodynia also occurred more commonly in this group (p<0.001), which also presented higher levels of deafferentation (p<0.012) with more asymmetric cold and warm detection thresholds compared to controls. In particular, cold hypoesthesia (considered when the threshold of the affected side was less than 41% of the contralateral threshold) odds ratio was 12 (95%CI: 3.8-41.6) for neuropathic pain. Additionally, cold detection threshold/ warm detection threshold ratio correlated with the presence of neuropathic pain (ρ=-0.4, p< 0.001). Correlations were found between specific neuropathic pain symptom clusters and quantitative sensory testing: paroxysmal pain with cold (ρ=-0.4; p=0.008) and heat pain thresholds (ρ=0.5; p=0.003), burning pain with mechanical detection (ρ= -0.4; p=0.015) and mechanical pain thresholds (ρ=-0.4, p<0.013), evoked pain with mechanical pain threshold (ρ= -0.3; p=0.047). Logistic regression showed that the combination of cold hypoesthesia on quantitative sensory testing, the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory, and the allodynia intensity on bedside examination explained 77% of the occurrence of neuropathic pain.
These findings provide insights into the clinical-psychophysics relationships in central post-stroke pain and may assist more precise distinction of neuropathic from non-neuropathic post-stroke pain in clinical practice and in future trials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Ricardo Galhardoni
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lin Tchia Yeng
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jefferson Rosi Junior
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Marcelo Delboni Lemos
- Department of Radiology, LIM-44, University of São Paulo, 05403-900, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Roland Peyron
- NeuroPain team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Inserm U1028, CNRS UMR5292, UCBL1, UJM, F-6900, Lyon, France
| | - Luis Garcia-Larrea
- NeuroPain team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Inserm U1028, CNRS UMR5292, UCBL1, UJM, F-6900, Lyon, France
| | - Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Neurology, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, 05403-900, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Daniel Ciampi de Andrade
- Pain Center, Discipline of Neurosurgery HC-FMUSP, LIM-62, University of São Paulo, Brazil
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, DK-9220, Aalborg, Denmark
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Xu D, Ma X, Sun C, Han J, Zhou C, Chan MTV, Wu WKK. Emerging roles of circular RNAs in neuropathic pain. Cell Prolif 2021; 54:e13139. [PMID: 34623006 PMCID: PMC8666284 DOI: 10.1111/cpr.13139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuropathic pain is a major type of chronic pain caused by the disease or injury of the somatosensory nervous system. It afflicts about 10% of the general population with a significant proportion of patients’ refractory to conventional medical treatment. This highlights the importance of a better understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of neuropathic pain so as to drive the development of novel mechanism‐driven therapy. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of non‐coding, regulatory RNAs that exhibit tissue‐ and disease‐specific expression. An increasing number of studies reported that circRNAs may play pivotal roles in the development of neuropathic pain. In this review, we first summarize circRNA expression profiling studies on neuropathic pain. We also highlight the molecular mechanisms of specific circRNAs (circHIPK3, circAnks1a, ciRS‐7, cZRANB1, circZNF609 and circ_0005075) that play key functional roles in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain and discuss their potential diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic utilization in the clinical management of neuropathic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derong Xu
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Xuexiao Ma
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Chong Sun
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Jialuo Han
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Chuanli Zhou
- Department of Spine Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Matthew T V Chan
- Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care and Peter Hung Pain Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - William K K Wu
- Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care and Peter Hung Pain Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,State Key Laboratory of Digestive Diseases, LKS Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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Serrano Afonso A, Carnaval T, Videla Cés S. Combination Therapy for Neuropathic Pain: A Review of Recent Evidence. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10163533. [PMID: 34441829 PMCID: PMC8396869 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10163533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Pharmacological treatment is not very effective for neuropathic pain (NP). A progressive decrease in the estimated effect of NP drugs has been reported, giving rise to an increase in the use of the multimodal analgesic approach. We performed a new independent review to assess whether more and better-quality evidence has become available since the last systematic review. We evaluated the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of double-blinded randomized controlled trials involving only adult participants and comparing combination therapy (CT: ≥2 drugs) with a placebo and/or at least one other comparator with an NP indication. The primary outcome assessed was the proportion of participants reporting ≥50% pain reductions from baseline. The secondary outcome assessed was the proportion of drop-outs due to treatment-emergent adverse events. After removing duplicates, 2323 citations were screened, with 164 articles assessed for eligibility, from which 16 were included for qualitative analysis. From the latter, only five lasted for at least 12 weeks and only six complied with the required data for complete analysis. CT has been adopted for years without robust evidence. Efforts have been made to achieve better-quality evidence, but the quality has not improved over the years. In this regard, guidelines for NP should attempt to make recommendations about CT research, prioritizing which combinations to analyze.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ancor Serrano Afonso
- Department of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Pain Management, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
- Correspondence:
| | - Thiago Carnaval
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain;
| | - Sebastià Videla Cés
- Pharmacology Unit, Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, IDIBELL, University of Barcelona, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain;
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Fan Y, Li N, Yao X. Identification of potential biomarkers of long non-coding RNAs in neuropathic pain using bioinformatic analysis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore) 2021; 100:e25147. [PMID: 33761683 PMCID: PMC9282065 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000025147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) play important roles in the regulation of neuropathic pain (NP) development. LncRNAs dysregulations are related to the development of NP. However, a comprehensive meta-analysis has never been conducted to assess the relationship between LncRNAs and NP. To combine the results of dysregulated LncRNAs in individual NP studies and to identify potential LncRNAs biomarkers. METHODS LncRNAs profiling studies of NP were extracted from Pubmed, Web of science, Embase, Google Scholar, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database if they met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model to identify the effect of each multiple-reported LncRNAs. We also performed subgroup analysis according to LncRNAs detecting methods and sample type. Sensitivity analysis was performed on the sample size. Bioinformatic analysis was performed to identify the potential biomatic functions. All results were represented as log10 odds ratios. RESULTS This review will be disseminated in print by peer-review. CONCLUSION The identified LncRNAs may be closely linked with NP and may act as potentially useful biomarkers. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION The private information from individuals will not publish. This systematic review also will not involve endangering participant rights. Ethical approval is not available. The results may be published in a peer- reviewed journal or disseminated in relevant conferences. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/ZRX7C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongzhi Fan
- Department of Pain Management, Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Provine, China
| | - Na Li
- Department of Pain Management, Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Provine, China
| | - Xianbao Yao
- Department of Pain Management, Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Provine, China
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