Spinal c-Fos protein expression and inflammatory nociceptive processes: Pharmacological studies with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and their associations in the awake rat

Numerous studies use the c-Fos protein immunoreactivity as a neuronal marker allowing quantitative and systematic physio-pharmacological studies related to nociceptive processes. We have used c-Fos technique, at the spinal cord level, in combination with measurements of the peripheral edema to investigate effects of various substances implicated, or not, in the inflammatory nociceptive processes due to intraplantar injection of carrageenan. This article summarizes the studies performed with this approach to gauge the effects of various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs] and, in addtion, their association with substances having other mechanisms of action. Our results suggest that co-administration of various anti-inflammatory and/or analgesic substances may produce enhanced therapeutic effects with reduced doses, and thus a reduced side-effect liability.