Identifying the Role of the Rostral Ventromedial Medulla in Mediating Postoperative Thermal and Mechanical Hypersensitivity Reduction After Green Light Exposure
Abstract
Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) Topic Area: Non-opioid therapy for pain management. Background: The opioid crisis continues to have devastating effects throughout the United States. The number of surgeries in the USA exceeded 40 million in 2010 and has steadily increased. Despite all risks associated with opioids, they remain the most prescribed medications for managing surgical pain. Patients with anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbances can experience exaggerated pain, necessitating higher doses of opioids to control their post-surgical pain. Sadly, patients with anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances are also at higher risk of opioid abuse disorder and dependence. Military service personnel experiences unique stresses such as deployments, which may place them at additional risk for anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. Military members and Veterans have 3-4 times higher anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance rates than civilians. They are also at higher risk of developing opioid dependence. Finding a therapy that can decrease reliance on opioids for postsurgical pain would be transformative. Rationale: Non-pharmacological modalities to manage pain have been gaining more attention. While some non-pharmacological therapies are commonly used, many others remain underutilized. For example, light therapy has been used medically for depression and seasonal affective disorder. However, its utility for pain control is only newly being investigated. Green light therapy also decreases chronic pain, anxiety, and depression and improves sleep in humans. The effects of green light are mediated through a pain center in the brainstem known as the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM). We investigated the effects green light therapy has on the inflammatory environment, specifically occurring in the brain and spinal cord. We demonstrated that rodents exposed to green light produce fewer chemicals responsible for causing inflammation. Additionally, these rodents also produced more chemicals that fight inflammation in the brain. Green light can decrease pain and anxiety by increasing the production of natural substances in the brain that fights pain and anxiety while also reducing the production of inflammatory substances. In other words, green light can promote the brain’s natural ability to reduce inflammation and pain. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that green light therapy will reverse the surgically induced pain in male and female rodents by increasing the production of the brain’s natural chemicals, which fight pain, prevent the immune cells from being activated, and decrease the inflammatory environment in the RVM. Specific Aims (SA): SA1: This aim will characterize the role of the RVM in mediating the analgesic effects of green light therapy in a surgical pain model. Here, we will also describe the magnitude of changes in the RVM levels of natural chemicals that decrease pain after exposure to green light. SA2: This aim will evaluate how green light will decrease the activation of the immune cells in the RVM that houses the inflammatory chemicals in a surgical pain model. Exploratory Aim: This aim will explore the effect of green light on skin healing after surgery. Objectives: Understanding the role of RVM in mediating the effects of green light therapy. Study Design: This proposal is an animal study using male and female rats to elucidate the role of the RVM in mediating the analgesic effects of green light therapy. Short-Term Impact: (1) Elucidate the mechanisms of action of green light-induced analgesia, (2) understand how green light modulates one of the pain centers in the brain, and (3) provide essential data about green light therapy safety for future clinical trial planning. Long-Term Impact: (1) Using green light technology to manage neuroinflammatory conditions such as traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s disease; (2) increase our und
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2024
- Source ID
- HT94252310174
Entities
People
- Mohab Ibrahim
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Arizona