Increase in the time withdrawal latency and pNR1 after wet cupping therapy (WCT) in rats with neuropathic pain induced with chronic constriction injury

Abstract

Objective & Objective: Neuropathic pain (NP) is induced by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory system. A lot of individuals seek an alternative form of treatment for their pain because it is typically chronic, severe, and worsens with the pharmacological therapy. Both acute and chronic pain have been successfully treated using wet cupping therapy (WCT). WCT is helpful in reducing many types of pain, although the mechanism by which it does so is still unclear. Recent research has demonstrated that NP and NMDA receptor NR1 (pNR1) change are related. The most popular of NP's animal models, chronic constriction injury (CCI) models, were used in our study to apply in WCT. By observing the rise in pNR1 and time withdrawal latency (TWL) in Rattus norvegicus with CCI, we looked at the association between WCT and pain relief.

Methodology: Our study used a post-test only, randomized controlled trial design, overall with 21 male Rattus Norvegicus CCI models, who were 4 months old and weighed 220-250 g. Three groups, G1 as a sham CCI group, G2 as a CCI group, and G3 as a CCI group plus WCT, were created at random from these rats. In three weeks, each group received two times a week application of WCT to the paralumbar area (on both the left and right sides). Rats' TWL was measured and evaluated using a hot plate to determine their pain threshold and the number of pNR1-expressing glial cells in the spinal cord was computed.

Results: According to this research, the mean and standard deviation of the TWL values for G1, G2, and G3 were: 8.8 ± 0.28, 1.44 ± 0.10, and 14.57 ± 0.45 respectively. While the minimum, maximum and median of pNR1 values for G1, G2, and G3 were, 4.2, 4.2, 4.2; 0.0, 0.9, 0.0; and 5.20, 8.00, 8.00 respectively. With P = 0.0001 and P = 0.0001, respectively, there were significant differences in the TWL by ANOVA test, and pNR1 by Kruskall Wallis test among the groups. P1-P2, P1-P3, and P2-P3 had significantly dissimilar TWLs, e.g., P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001, and P = 0.0001; while P1-P2, P1-P3, and P2-P3 had significantly dissimilar pNR1 increases (P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001, and P = 0.0001).

Conclusion: We can draw the conclusion that WCT reduces pain in CCI rats by raising pNR1 and TWL (NP models). We suggest WCT as a technique that shows promise for reducing pain in peripheral NP models, although additional research is required to validate its mode of action.

Abbreviations: pNR1- phosphorylated NMDA receptor 1;

Keywords: CCI; Chronic constriction injury; pNR2; Neuropathic pain; WCT; Wet cupping therapy

Citation: Qurnianingsih E, Hidayati HB, Khaerunnisa S, Widjiati, Subadi I, Arfianti L, Abror ANF, Puspamaniar VA. Increase in the time withdrawal latency and pNR1 after wet cupping therapy (WCT) in rats with neuropathic pain induced with chronic constriction injury. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2024;28(2):243−247; DOI: 10.35975/apic.v28i2.2434

Received: August 25, 2023; Revised: February 03, 2024; Accepted: February 08, 2024