ORCID Profile
0000-0003-4656-5536
Current Organisation
King's College London
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Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 25-08-2021
DOI: 10.1126/SCITRANSLMED.ABG9890
Abstract: Nerve conduction and chronic pain are safely inhibited by an ultra low frequency current waveform.
Publisher: Society for Neuroscience
Date: 04-02-2020
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2268-19.2020
Abstract: The interaction between the immune system and the nervous system has been at the center of multiple research studies in recent years. Whereas the role played by cytokines as neuronal mediators is no longer contested, the mechanisms by which cytokines modulate pain processing remain to be elucidated. In this study, we have analyzed the involvement of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in nociceptor activation in male and female mice. Previous studies have suggested GM-CSF might directly activate neurons. However, here we established the absence of a functional GM-CSF receptor in murine nociceptors, and suggest an indirect mechanism of action, via immune cells. We report that GM-CSF applied directly to magnetically purified nociceptors does not induce any transcriptional changes in nociceptive genes. In contrast, conditioned medium from GM-CSF-treated murine macrophages was able to drive nociceptor transcription. We also found that conditioned medium from nociceptors treated with the well established pain mediator, nerve growth factor, could also modify macrophage gene transcription, providing further evidence for a bidirectional crosstalk. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The interaction of the immune system and the nervous system is known to play an important role in the development and maintenance of chronic pain disorders. Elucidating the mechanisms of these interactions is an important step toward understanding, and therefore treating, chronic pain disorders. This study provides evidence for a two-way crosstalk between macrophages and nociceptors in the peripheral nervous system, which may contribute to the sensitization of nociceptors by cytokines in pain development.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2012
DOI: 10.1111/J.1749-6632.2012.06561.X
Abstract: This meeting report highlights the main topics presented at the conference "Chronic Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain," convened jointly by the New York Academy of Sciences, MedImmune, and Grünenthal GmbH, on June 2-3, 2011, with the goal of providing a conducive environment for lively, informed, and synergistic conversation among participants from academia, industry, clinical practice, and government to explore new frontiers in our understanding and treatment of chronic and neuropathic pain. The program included leading and emerging investigators studying the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying neuropathic and chronic pain, and experts in the clinical development of pain therapies. Discussion included novel issues, current challenges, and future directions of basic research in pain and preclinical and clinical development of new therapies for chronic pain.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.YMTHE.2005.11.014
Abstract: Immortalized cell lines of olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG) that maintain the proregenerative properties of primary cultures provide an unlimited source of OEG for both basic and applied studies. Indeed, one specific immortalized rat OEG clonal line (TEG3) proved to be as good as primary OEG in promoting neuritogenesis and axon regeneration in culture models. Thus, we examined the capacity of TEG3 to promote axonal repair in an animal model of spinal cord injury, dorsal column crush. TEG3 cells can acquire astrocyte-like or Schwann cell-like morphology depending on the conditions under which they are cultured. In the injured spinal cord, prelabeled TEG3 survived for at least 10 weeks after grafting and they integrated into the spinal cord, adopting Schwann cell-like, astrocyte-like, or intermediate morphologies. In TEG3-transplanted animals, sensory projection axons grow into the lesion site and there was robust sprouting/axonal growth of the corticospinal tract, both into and beyond the lesion site, after crushing of the spinal cord-dorsal columns. TEG3-transplanted animals also recovered sensory and motor function in tape removal and beam walking behavioral tests. These data indicate that certain immortalized cell lines derived from a single cell can maintain the regenerative properties of primary OEG.
Publisher: American Medical Association (AMA)
Date: 10-2013
DOI: 10.1001/JAMAOPHTHALMOL.2013.4399
Abstract: Dry eye disease (DED) is common, but little is known about factors contributing to symptoms of dry eye, given the poor correlation between these symptoms and objective signs at the ocular surface. To explore whether pain sensitivity plays a role in patients' experience of DED symptoms. A population-based cross-sectional study of 1635 female twin volunteers, aged 20 to 83 years, from the TwinsUK adult registry. Dry eye disease was diagnosed if participants had at least 1 of the following: (1) a diagnosis of DED by a clinician, (2) the prescription of artificial tears, and/or (3) symptoms of dry eyes for at least 3 months. A subset of 689 women completed the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire. Quantitative sensory testing using heat stimulus on the forearm was used to assess pain sensitivity (heat pain threshold [HPT]) and pain tolerance (heat pain suprathreshold [HPST]). Of the 1622 participants included, 438 (27.0%) were categorized as having DED. Women with DED showed a significantly lower HPT (P = .03) and HPST (P = .003)--and hence had higher pain sensitivity--than those without DED. A strong significant association between the presence of pain symptoms on the OSDI and the HPT and HPST was found (P = .008 for the HPT and P = .003 for the HPST). In addition, participants with an HPT below the median had DED pain symptoms almost twice as often as those with an HPT above the median (31.2% vs 20.5% odds ratio, 1.76 95% CI, 1.15-2.71 P = .01). High pain sensitivity and low pain tolerance are associated with symptoms of DED, adding to previous associations of the severity of tear insufficiency, cell damage, and psychological factors. Management of DED symptoms is complex, and physicians need to consider the holistic picture, rather than simply treating ocular signs.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Stephen McMahon.