Behavioral Assessment of Sensory, Motor, Emotion, and Cognition in Rodent Models of Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the second most common type of stroke and has one of the highest fatality rates of any disease. There are many clinical signs and symptoms after ICH due to brain cell injury and network disruption resulted from the rupture of a tiny artery and activation of inflammatory cells, such as motor dysfunction, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, and emotional disturbance, etc. Thus, researchers have established many tests to evaluate behavioral changes in rodent ICH models, in order to achieve a better understanding and thus improvements in the prognosis for the clinical treatment of stroke. This review summarizes existing protocols that have been applied to assess neurologic function outcomes in the rodent ICH models such as pain, motor, cognition, and emotion tests. Pain tests include mechanical, hot, and cold pain tests; motor tests include the following 12 types: neurologic deficit scale test, staircase test, rotarod test, cylinder test, grid walk test, forelimb placing test, wire hanging test, modified neurologic severity score, beam walking test, horizontal ladder test, and adhesive removal test; learning and memory tests include Morris water maze, Y-maze, and novel object recognition test; emotion tests include elevated plus maze, sucrose preference test, tail suspension test, open field test, and forced swim test. This review discusses these assessments by examining their rationale, setup, duration, baseline, procedures as well as comparing their pros and cons, thus guiding researchers to select the most appropriate behavioral tests for preclinical ICH research.

A Phase 1, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Crossover Study to Evaluate the Pharmacodynamic Effects of VX-150, a highly selective NaV1.8 inhibitor, in Healthy Male Adults

Objective To evaluate the analgesic potential, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of VX-150, a pro-drug of a highly selective NaV1.8 inhibitor, in healthy subjects. Design This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study in healthy subjects. Subjects Twenty healthy male subjects with an age of 18-55, inclusive, were enrolled. Eligibility was based on general fitness, absence of current or previous medical conditions that could compromise subject safety and a training assessment of pain tolerance across pain tests, to exclude highly tolerant individuals that could compromise the ability to detect analgesic responses. All dosed subjects completed the study. Methods Subjects were randomized 1:1 to 1 of 2 sequences receiving a single VX-150 dose and subsequently placebo, or vice versa, with at least 7 days between dosing. A battery of pain tests (pressure, electrical stair, (capsaicin-induced) heat and cold pressor) was administered pre-dose and repetitively up to 10 h post-dose, with blood sampling up to 24 h post-dose. Safety was monitored throughout the study. Data were analyzed with a repeated measures mixed-effects model. Results VX-150 induced analgesia in a variety of evoked pain tests, without affecting subject safety. Significant effects were reported for cold pressor and heat pain thresholds. Maximum median concentration for the active moiety was 4.30 ug/mL at 4 h post-dose. Conclusion Results of this proof-of-mechanism study are supportive of the potential of VX-150, a highly selective NaV1.8 channel inhibitor, to treat various pain indications.

Validation of device for detection of metallic foreign bodies in cattle

ABSTRACT: The ingestion of foreign bodies, mainly metallic (MFB- metallic foreign body), by cattle is frequent and can lead to death. For diagnostic purposes, reticular pain tests are routinely used, and ferroscopy is still unusual, even as a diagnostic aid. The objective of this study was to validate the application of the GMS 120 Professional BOSCH® metal detector (MD) in the detection of MFB in the bovine species and describe its use in field cases. Fifty MFBs of varying shape, size, and weight were evaluated with an MD, initially on a flat and inert surface, and then in a permanent rumen fistulated cow. Retrospectively, a database from 2000 to 2017 with 122015 cattle was accessed, of which 31865 were examined after the introduction of MD usage in 2013. Fifteen cows positive for reticular pain tests were prospectively evaluated and eight cows were diagnosed with MFB through MD usage. The mean distance for MFB best detection on the inert surface was 4.6 cm. In the fistulated cow, it was not possible to detect any MFBs, regardless of the size or weight of the material. The MFB detection capacity increased with MD use, which can be considered a diagnostic aid in specific situations. Depending on the body condition of the bovine, false negatives may occur with the use of GMS 120 Professional Bosch® metal detector.

The Research of Topical Analgesic Effect on Arisaema Wine Paste, Vinegar Paste

To study the analgesic effect of Arisaema wine paste, vinegar paste for external use. By two pain tests induced by formaldehyde and by hot plate ,observing the effect of high and low-dose of different varieties Arisaema with wine paste and vinegar paste on the the behavior of model mice.In the pain tests induced by formaldehyde,after administration of 5min and 10min,high and low-dose of different varieties Arisaema with wine paste and vinegar paste can significantly reduced the number of times of mice licking foot (P<0.01).In the pain tests induced by hot plate,after the administration of 30min ~ 90min, ,high and low-dose of different varieties Arisaema with wine paste and vinegar paste can significantly significantly increased the pain threshold of mice (P<0.01). Arisaema topical has good therapeutic effect on mice induced pain model, and topical analgesic effect of Arisaema is better.