Accepted

Classical trigeminal neuralgia (CTN) is a unilateral and severe facial pain disease, which seriously affects the patient's quality of life. Microvascular decompression (MVD) is currently the most effective surgical method, and it is the only treatment for the etiology of CTN. Imaging for MVD has been increasingly used, and the advantages and disadvantages of endoscopy-assisted vascular decompression surgery have been controversially debated. In this review, we aimed to discuss the advantages of MVD in the treatment of patients with CTN, the importance of using imaging in disease management, and the improvements of vascular decompression surgery through the application and maturity of endoscopic techniques. Compared with other surgical methods, MVD has more prominent short- and long-term treatment effects. Its selection depends on the accurate discovery of neurovascular compression by preoperative imaging. Moreover, magnetic resonance imaging plays a diverse role in MVD, not only in identifying the responsible vessels but also in determining the prognosis and as a tool for scientific research. The use of endoscopic techniques provides improved visualization of the MVD and additional benefits for vascular decompression surgery.

To assess the prevalence and burden of autonomic symptoms in migraine, and determine the relationship with migraine frequency.

Migraine is a complex disorder with genetic and environmental inputs. Cumulative evidence implicates oxidative stress (OS) in migraine pathophysiology while genetic variability may influence an individuals' oxidative/antioxidant capacity. Aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of eight common OS-related genetic variants [rs4880 (), rs1001179 (), rs1050450 (), rs1695 (), rs1138272 (), rs1799983 (), rs6721961 (), rs660339 ()] in migraine susceptibility and clinical features in a South-eastern European Caucasian population.

Dental pulpitis often induces severe pain, and the molecular immune response is remarkable in both peripheral and central nervous system. Accumulating evidence indicates that activated microglia in the medullary dorsal horn (MDH) contribute to dental pulpitis induced pain. The P2X7 receptor plays an important role in driving pain and inflammatory processes, and its downstream target hypoxia-induced factor-1α (HIF-1α) has a crucial role in maintaining inflammation. However, the relationship between P2X7 and HIF-1α in dental inflammatory pain remains unclear. This study demonstrated that the degree of inflammation in the dental pulp tissue became more severe in a time-dependent manner by establishing a rat dental pulpitis model pulp exposure. Meanwhile, the expression of P2X7, HIF-1α, IL-1β, and IL-18 in the MDH increased most on the seventh day when the pain threshold was the lowest in the dental pulpitis model. Furthermore, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) increased P2X7-mediated HIF-1α expression in microglia. Notably, the suppression of P2X7 caused less IL-1β and IL-18 release and lower HIF-1α expression, and P2X7 antagonist Brilliant Blue G (BBG) could alleviate pain behaviors of the dental pulpitis rats. In conclusion, our results provide further evidence that P2X7 is a key molecule, which regulates HIF-1α expression and inflammation in dental pulpitis-induced pain.

Increasing lines of evidence indicate that traditional Chinese exercise (TCE) has potential benefits in improving chronic low back pain (CLBP) symptoms. To assess the clinical efficacy of TCE in the treatment of CLBP, we performed a systematic review of existing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CLBP and summarized the neural mechanisms underlying TCE in the treatment of CLBP.

Neurons in the somatic, sympathetic, and parasympathetic ganglia are surrounded by envelopes consisting of satellite glial cells (SGCs). Recently, it has become clear that SGCs are highly altered after nerve injury, which influences neuronal excitability and, consequently, the development and maintenance of pain in different animal models of chronic pain. However, the exact mechanism underlying chronic pain is not fully understood yet because it is assumed that SGCs in different ganglia share many common peculiarities, making the process complex. Here, we review recent data on morphological and functional heterogeneity and changes in SGCs in various pain conditions and their role in response to injury. More research is required to decipher the role of SGCs in diseases, such as chronic pain, neuropathology, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Chronic pain remains to be a clinical challenge and is recognized as a major health problem with varying impacts on quality of life. Currently, the first-line therapy for chronic pain is opioids, which are often accompanied by unwanted psychoactive side effects. Thus, new and effective treatments for chronic pain are urgently needed and eagerly pursued. Inflammatory cytokines, especially interleukin-17 (IL-17), are reportedly potential therapeutic targets owing to their pivotal role in chronic pain from the neuroinflammation perspective. Recently, substantial evidence confirmed that IL-17 and IL-17 receptors (IL-17Rs) were increased in neuropathic, inflammatory, and cancer pain models. Notably, IL-17/IL-17R antibodies also reportedly relieve or cure inflammatory- and pain-related diseases. However, existing studies have reported controversial results regarding IL-17/IL-17Rs as potential therapeutic targets in diverse animal models of chronic pain. In this review, we present a summary of published studies and discuss the evidence, from basic to clinical to research, regarding the role and mechanism of action between IL-17 and diverse kinds of chronic pain in animal models and clinical patients. Furthermore, we evaluated IL-17-based therapy as a potential therapeutic strategy for inflammatory- and pain-related disease. Importantly, we also discussed clinical trials of IL-17/IL-17R targeting monoclonal antibodies. Overall, we found that IL-17 is a potential therapeutic target for chronic pain from the perspective of neuroinflammation.