The role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in different animal models of neuropathic pain

Even in present day pain therapy, neuropathic pain remains a challenge for clinicians to treat and a challenge for researchers to investigate. Different animal models have been developed to mimic neuropathic pain. Neurotrophins such as nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin 3 have been studied extensively in these models, yet few review articles concerning brain-derived neurotrophic factor have been published. This article reassesses the literature concerning brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury model, the sciatic nerve transection model, the spinal nerve ligation model and the spinal nerve transection model and discusses differences in regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor between these models and their causality with neuropathic pain. (C) 2009 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.