Mechanisms of Vulvodynia

描述：(申请人提供) 这项研究的长期目标是阐明 慢性疼痛综合征外阴痛的病理生理机制 阴道和外阴区，以制定改进的治疗策略 缓解这些女性的慢性疼痛，针对潜在的 病理生理机制。外阴疼痛是女性面临的主要挑战 患有这种慢性疼痛综合症，并对他们的 性生活。治疗策略，包括内科和外科方法， 只是经验性的，往往是不成功的。我们提出了两种方法来 更好地了解外阴疼痛的病理生理机制： (1)我们将在大鼠身上建立动物模型，这将使我们能够研究 参与处理伤害性输入的脊髓通路 阴道。该动物研究项目的具体目标是：(A)获得 有关处理伤害性信息的脊髓通路的详细信息 来自阴道区的传入输入，(B)以确定 动情周期在脊髓对阴道伤害性刺激的处理中，(C) 评价药物对脊髓加工的影响 有害的阴道刺激，(D)研究以前的影响 阴道/外阴创伤对阴道有害刺激的反应。(2)我们 建议对外阴疼痛患者的疼痛进行详细的描述。我们的 假设外阴疼痛的患者可以被区分为不同的 根据他们的疼痛特征分组，以及疼痛的治疗 如果基于对潜在疾病的认识，外阴疼痛将更加有效 神经生理机制。这项临床研究的具体目标是 项目是：(A)评估儿童对非有害刺激和有害刺激的反应 女性外阴和阴道区与正常对照组的比较 使用定量感觉测试的健康对照，(B)确定 性腺激素环境对外阴疼痛患者疼痛的影响。 这些研究将为病理生理学提供基本的新见解。 外阴疼痛的机制。这些研究的结果可能会迅速做出贡献 设计新的治疗策略，特别是针对 外阴疼痛女性慢性疼痛的潜在神经机制。

DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant) The long range objective of this research is to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms of vulvodynia, a chronic pain syndrome of the vaginal and vulvar area, in order to develop improved treatment strategies for alleviating chronic pain in these women, targeted at the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Vulvodynia is a major challenge for women who suffer from this chronic pain syndrome, and has a detrimental impact on their sexual lives. Treatment strategies, including medical and surgical approaches, are empirical only and are often unsuccessful. We propose two approaches to gain a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of vulvodynia: (1) We will develop an animal model in the rat, that will allow to study the spinal cord pathways involved in the processing of noxious input from the vagina. The specific goals of this animal research project are (a) to obtain detailed information about the spinal cord pathways that process nociceptive afferent input from the vaginal area, (b) to determine the influence of the estrous cycle on the spinal cord processing of noxious vaginal stimulation, (c) to assess the effects of pharmacological agents on the spinal cord processing of noxious vaginal stimulation, (d) to study the influence of previous vaginal/vulvar trauma on the response to noxious vaginal stimulation. (2) We propose to characterize pain in patients with vulvodynia in detail. Our hypothesis is that patients with vulvodynia can be differentiated into distinct groups based on their pain characteristics, and that treatment of pain in vulvodynia will be more effective, if based on recognition of the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. The specific goals of this clinical research project are to (a) to assess the response to non-noxious and noxious stimuli in the vulvar and vaginal area in women suffering from vulvodynia in comparison to healthy controls using quantitative sensory testing, (b) to determine the influence of the gonadal hormonal milieu on pain in patients with vulvodynia. These studies will provide fundamental new insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of vulvodynia. The results of these studies may rapidly contribute to the design of new treatment strategies specifically targeted at the underlying neural mechanisms of chronic pain in women with vulvodynia.