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Involvement of nerve growth factor (NGF) in chronic neuropathic pain – a systematic review

  • Catarina Reis , Sílvia Chambel , Ana Ferreira und Célia Duarte Cruz EMAIL logo
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 7. Juli 2022

Abstract

Pain is a complex experience, encompassing physiological and psychological components. Amongst the different types of pain, neuropathic pain, resulting from injuries to the peripheral or central nervous system, still constitutes a challenge for researchers and clinicians. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is currently regarded as a key contributor and may serve as a therapeutic target in many types of pain, likely including neuropathic pain. Here, we reviewed the role of NGF in neuropathic pain of peripheral and central origin, also addressing its potential use as a pharmacological target to better help patients dealing with this condition that severely impacts the everyday life. For this, we conducted a search in the databases PubMed and Scopus. Our search resulted in 1103 articles (458 in PubMed and 645 in Scopus). Only articles related to the involvement of NGF in pain or articles that approached its potential use as a target in treatment of pain symptoms were included. Duplicates were eliminated and 274 articles were excluded. After careful analysis, 23 articles were selected for review. Original articles studying the role of NGF in pathology as well as its modulation as a possible therapeutic target were included. We found that NGF is widely regarded as a key player in neuropathic pain and seen as a putative therapeutic target. However, evidence obtained from years of clinical trials highlights the toxic adverse effects of anti-NGF therapeutics, precluding its use in clinical context. Further studies are, thus, needed to improve treatment of chronic neuropathic pain.


Corresponding author: Célia Duarte Cruz, Experimental Biology Unit, Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal; Translational Neurourology, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde‐i3S and IBMC, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal E-mail:
Working address for Catarina Reis, Sílvia Chambel, and Ana Ferreira: Department of Biomedicine, Experimental Biology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal.

Acknowledgments

Ana Ferreira is supported by a PhD fellowship from i3S and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência Tecnologia (UI/BD/151547/2021). Work conducted by Sílvia Chambel was supported by a PhD fellowship by FCT (SFRH/BD/135868/2018).

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare they have no conflicts of interests.

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Received: 2022-04-06
Accepted: 2022-06-03
Published Online: 2022-07-07
Published in Print: 2023-01-27

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