ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2017
Analgesic Mechanisms of Antidepressants for Neuropathic Pain.
Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 173 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
173 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 368 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of the Antidepressants in Managing Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Pooled it
- Low-value interventions to deimplement: A secondary analysis of a systematic review of low back pain clinical practice guidelines.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Are Cannabis-Based Medicines a Useful Treatment for Neuropathic Pain? A Systematic Review.Biomolecules · 2025Pooled it
- Antidepressants for pain management in adults with chronic pain: a network meta-analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Quantitative analysis of nortriptyline's analgesic properties: a comparative systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Neuropathic pain in burn patients - A common problem with little literature: A systematic review.Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries · 2024Pooled it
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in central post-stroke pain: a meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- European Headache Federation (EHF) critical re-appraisal and meta-analysis of oral drugs in migraine prevention-part 1: amitriptyline.The journal of headache and pain · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of duloxetine in painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- The Effect of Neuromodulatory Drugs on the Intensity of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women: A Systematic Review.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2022Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Vitamin D Supplementation in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- What is the evidence for mirtazapine in treating cancer-related symptomatology? A systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2020Pooled it
- The Role of Bacteria and Its Derived Metabolites in Chronic Pain and Depression: Recent Findings and Research Progress.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2020Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Duloxetine.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Evaluating amitriptyline's role in chronic TMD management: a placebo-controlled trial.BMC oral health · 2025Trial
- Gabapentinoids-duloxetine combination therapy for chronic pain: A mechanism oriented rational to bridge theoretical knowledge and real life setting.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- Comparative Effectiveness of Pregabalin With Duloxetine Versus Pregabalin With Amitriptyline in Chronic Low Back Pain With Radiculopathy: A Prospective Comparative Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Structural and functional basis of antinociceptive action of χ-conotoxin AoIA at the noradrenaline transporter.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2026Article
- Therapeutic potential of combining mirogabalin with antidepressants in relieving hypersensitivity: evidence from a mouse model of neuropathic pain.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2026Article
- Tramadol in drug-facilitated sexual assault: global case prevalence, pharmacology, and drug interactions.Journal of analytical toxicology · 2026Review
113 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tricyclic antidepressants and serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors are used to treat chronic pain, such as neuropathic pain. Why antidepressants are effective for treatment of neuropathic pain and the precise mechanisms underlying their effects, however, remain unclear. The inhibitory effects of these antidepressants for neuropathic pain manifest more quickly than their antidepressive effects, suggesting different modes of action. Recent studies of animal models of neuropathic pain revealed that noradrenaline is extremely important for the inhibition of neuropathic pain. First, increasing noradrenaline in the spinal cord by reuptake inhibition directly inhibits neuropathic pain through α₂-adrenergic receptors. Second, increasing noradrenaline acts on the locus coeruleus and improves the function of an impaired descending noradrenergic inhibitory system. Serotonin and dopamine may reinforce the noradrenergic effects to inhibit neuropathic pain. The mechanisms of neuropathic pain inhibition by antidepressants based mainly on experimental findings from animal models of neuropathic pain are discussed in this review.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.