Human experimental pain models in drug development: translational pain research

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Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2007 Jan;8(1):41-53.

Human experimental pain models in drug development: translational

pain research.

Arendt-Nielsen L, Curatolo M, Drewes A.

Addresses Aalborg University, Department of Health Sciences and

Technology, Laboratory for Experimental Pain Research, Fredrik

Bajers Vej 7, D3, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark.

Human experimental pain models require standardized stimulation and

quantitative assessment of the evoked responses. This approach can

be applied to healthy volunteers and pain patients before and after

pharmacological interventions. Standardized stimuli of different

modalities (ie, mechanical, chemical, thermal or electrical) can be

applied to the skin, muscles and viscera for a differentiated and

comprehensive assessment of various pain pathways and mechanisms.

Using a multi-modal, multi-tissue approach, new and existing

analgesic drugs can be profiled by their modulation of specific

biomarkers. It has been shown that biomarkers, for example, those

related to the central integration of repetitive nociceptive

stimuli, can predict efficacy of a given drug in neuropathic pain

conditions. Human experimental pain models can bridge animal and

clinical pain research, and act as translational research providing

new possibilities for designing successful clinical trials. Proof-of-

concept studies provide cheap, fast and reliable information on dose-

efficacy relationships and how pain sensed in the skin, muscles and

viscera are inhibited.