Mechanisms of Vulvodynia

描述：（申请人提供） 这项研究的长期目标是阐明 外阴痛的病理生理机制，一种慢性疼痛综合征， 阴道和外阴区域，以制定更好的治疗策略， 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的一个主要挑战， 患有这种慢性疼痛综合症，并对他们的健康产生不利影响。 性生活治疗策略，包括内科和外科方法， 只是经验性的，而且往往是不成功的。我们提出了两种方法， 更好地了解外阴痛的病理生理机制： (1)我们将在大鼠中开发一种动物模型，这将允许研究 脊髓通路参与处理有害输入， 阴道该动物研究项目的具体目标是（a）获得 关于处理伤害感受的脊髓通路的详细信息 来自阴道区域的传入输入，（B）以确定 动情周期对脊髓处理有害阴道刺激的影响，（c） 评估药物对脊髓处理的影响 （d）研究以前的阴道刺激对阴道的影响， 阴道/外阴创伤对有害阴道刺激反应的影响。(2)我们 建议详细描述外阴痛患者的疼痛特征。我们 假设外阴痛患者可以分为不同的 根据他们的疼痛特征进行分组， 外阴痛将是更有效的，如果基于认识的基础上， 神经生理机制本临床研究的具体目标 项目是（a）评估对非伤害性和伤害性刺激的反应， 外阴和阴道区域的女性相比， 使用定量感觉测试的健康对照，（B）以确定 外阴痛患者性腺激素环境对疼痛的影响 这些研究将为病理生理学提供基本的新见解， 外阴痛的机制这些研究的结果可能很快有助于 设计新的治疗策略，专门针对 外阴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.