Abstract.
Objective:
Inflammatory cytokines as well as nitric oxide (NO) play a key role in the pathogenesis of persistent and exaggerated pain states. To document this, we investigated whether a range of cytokines and NO were detectable in the plasma of chronic pain patients and whether cytokine and NO levels correlated with pain severity.
Methods:
Plasma samples of 94 chronic pain patients and 6 healthy volunteers were obtained. Average pain intensity during the last 24h was assessed on a 11-point numeric rating scale and patients were distributed to three groups: light, moderate and severe pain. The concentrations of TNF-α, GM-CSF, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and nitrate/nitrite were determined.
Results:
Patients with light pain demonstrated significantly increased levels of IL-6 compared to controls. In the severe pain group IL-6 and nitrate/nitrite were significantly increased. Serum concentrations of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-2 and IL-4 were increased but as we adjusted the level of significance at p = 0.0045, most cytokine plasma levels failed to reach statistical significance.
Conclusions:
Pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α) in the plasma correlate with increasing pain intensity. Chronic pain patients show a significant increase in plasma levels of NO in comparison to healthy controls.
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Received 30 May 2006; returned for revision 17 July 2006; accepted by G. Geisslinger 7 August 2006
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Koch, A., Zacharowski, K., Boehm, O. et al. Nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines correlate with pain intensity in chronic pain patients. Inflamm. res. 56, 32–37 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-007-6088-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-007-6088-4