Background Pain is an unpleasant sensory experience that usually plays a protective role. Inflammatory pain is often severe and stubborn, which has a great impact on the quality of life of patients. However, there has been no breakthrough in the treatment strategy and mechanism of inflammatory pain. Methods This study investigated the analgesic effect of tetrahydropalmatine (THP) in rats injected with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain. Allodynia and gait analysis of rats were used to evaluate the analgesic effect at different time points before and after operation. THP (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally once daily for 7 days post Day 3. The expression levels of TNF- α and IL-1 β in the spinal cord were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The activation of astrocytes and microglial cells in the spinal cord was tested by western blot before and after THP treatment. The apoptosis of glial cells was tested by flow cytometry after treatment with THP in the primary cultured glial cell model. Results CFA treatment induced significant allodynia and caused abnormal gait in rats. Administration of THP at 10 mg/kg significantly alleviated CFA-induced inflammatory pain behaviors. Moreover, CFA-induced activation of glial cells and the increased levels of TNF- α and IL-1 β were inhibited by THP administration. In addition, THP promotes apoptosis in primary cultured glial cells. This study suggests the possible clinical utility of THP in the treatment of inflammatory pain. Conclusion THP plays an analgesic role by inhibiting the activation of glial cells and promoting apoptosis.

ObjectiveIn this study, clinical data from vestibular migraine (VM) patients and healthy control populations were collected to analyze the clinical data of VM patients, especially the history of motion sickness, and to understand their clinical characteristics.MethodsAccording to VM diagnostic criteria, 140 patients diagnosed with confirmed VM (cVM) and probable VM (pVM) who attended the outpatient and inpatient ward of Jiaxing First Hospital between August 2017 and June 2021, as well as 287 healthy check-ups in the health management center, were analyzed and compared in terms of age, gender, and previous history of motion sickness.ResultsA comparison of clinical data related to VM patients and the control population showed that there were more women in the VM group (P < 0.01) and that patients in the VM group were older (P < 0.05) and had a higher prevalence of history of motion sickness history (P < 0.01). Analysis after matching gender and age revealed that patients in the cVM group were older than those in the pVM group (P < 0.05), but the proportion of motion sickness was lower than in the pVM group (P < 0.05). The age of the patients in the cVM group was mainly distributed around 50 years of age, following a normal distribution, whereas the age distribution of the patients in the pVM group did not have a significant trend of age concentration and was distributed at all ages.ConclusionThe history of motion sickness is significant in patients with VM and may be a potential suggestive factor for the diagnosis of VM.