| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
Influence of Temporomandibular Joint Pain on Sleep Patterns: Role of Nitric OxideDepartment of Psychobiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Medicina (UNIFESP/EPM), Rua Napoleão de Barros, 925 Vila Clementino SP-04024-002, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Correspondence: * corresponding author, tschutz{at}psicobio.epm.br Since nitric oxide is related to nociception and the sleep-wake cycle, this study sought to determine its involvement in the altered sleep pattern in a temporomandibular joint pain model by investigating the effect of the inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (L-NAME) and that of its precursor (L-arginine). The temporomandibular joints of test animals were injected with Freund’s adjuvant or saline, and their sleep was recorded. The procedure was repeated after the administration of L-NAME and L-arginine. L-NAME increased rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in the control group. The orofacial pain group showed a reduction in total sleep time and an increase in sleep latency compared with the SHAM group. L-NAME increased sleep time, non-rapid eye movement (NREM), and REM sleep and reduced sleep latency in the orofacial pain group. L-arginine did not alter sleep parameters. Thus, L-NAME improved sleep efficiency, whereas L-arginine did not modify it, suggesting the involvement of nitric oxide in painful temporomandibular joint conditions.
Key Words: orofacial pain • sleep • nitric oxide • L-NAME • L-arginine • rat
Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 83, No. 9,
693-697 (2004) This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
 |
|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
