Papers of the Week

Patients suffering with functional somatic pain syndromes such as temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) have some similar symptoms, but the underlying cause is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether 5-HT and 5-HT receptors in the spinal cord contribute to somatic hyperalgesia induced by orofacial inflammation combined with different modes of stress. Ovariectomized rats were injected subcutaneously with estradiol and bilateral masseter muscles were injected with complete Freund's adjuvant followed by stress. Somatic sensitivity was assessed with thermal and mechanical stimulation. The anxiety- and depression-like behaviors were measured by immobility time, sucrose preference, elevated plus maze and open field tests. The expression of 5-HT and 5-HT receptors in the spinal cord was examined by western blot. Orofacial inflammation combined with 11 day forced swim stress (FSS) induced persistent mechanical allodynia for 15 days and thermal hyperalgesia for 2 days. The mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia lasted for 43 days and 30 days respectively following orofacial inflammation combined with 11 day heterotypic stress. Orofacial inflammation combined with stress induced anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. The expression of 5-HT and 5-HT receptors significantly decreased in the orofacial inflammation combined with stress groups. Intrathecal injection of 5-HT or 5-HT receptor agonist reversed somatic hyperalgesia. The results suggest that down-regulation of 5-HT and 5-HT receptors in the spinal cord contributes to somatic hyperalgesia induced by orofacial inflammation combined with stress, indicating that 5-HT and 5-HT receptors may be potential targets in the treatment of TMD comorbid with FMS.