ADENOSINE AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN

Recent studies have reported the possibilities of relieving neuropathi c pain by administering adenosine or its analogs. In order to determin e if there exists a metabolic anomaly of this nucleoside in patients w ith neuropathic pain, circulating adenosine levels were compared in th ree patient groups. The first was composed of individuals suffering fr om neuropathic pain, the second of patients with nervous system lesion s in the absence of pain, and the third was composed of patients suffe ring from pain resulting from excessive nociception. The adenosine blo od levels of these patients were compared to those of a control group. Finally, adenosine in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of some patients was also assayed. The results show that there are reduced levels of bl ood and CSF adenosine in patients with neuropathic pain. This adenosin e deficiency could explain the potential therapeutic effects of admini stering adenosine or its analogs.