Pregabalin reduces cisplatin-induced mechanical allodynia in rats

Although cisplatin (cddp) is a key drug in cancer chemotherapy,cddp-induced peripheral neuropathy is a dose-limiting factor. we previously reported that cddp-induced peripheral neuropathy,which progressed from allodynia to hypoalgesia,was ameliorated by the administration of cddp to rats at a specific time. however,mechanical allodynia cannot be prevented therapeutically. pregabalin (pgn) is used to suppress neuropathic pain from herpes zoster and diabetes. therefore,we investigated the effects of pgn on cddp-induced mechanical allodynia in rats. cddp (4 mg/kg) was administered intravenously to male sprague–dawley rats at 5:00 once a week for 2 weeks,while saline was given to the control group. pgn (10 mg/kg/day) was administered orally twice a day at 8:00 and 20:00,and distilled water was given to the control group. the von frey and hot-plate tests were performed to assess cddp-induced peripheral neuropathy. withdrawal thresholds were significantly greater than those in with the cddp alone group when pgn was administered before and after the onset of cddp-induced mechanical allodynia. furthermore,cddp-induced mechanical allodynia was suppressed by the administration of pgn only. these results demonstrate that pgn effectively ameliorates cddp-induced mechanical allodynia during the administration of pgn. © 2017 the authors