Publications by authors named "Craft R"

This study determined whether consumption of a highly palatable liquid is a reliable measure of inflammatory pain and antinociception in male and female rats. After a 10-day acquisition period, the impact of intraplantar oil vs. complete Freund adjuvant (CFA) on consumption of vanilla-flavored Ensure was assessed, with a sipper tube height 12 or 19 cm above the floor.

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Specific Aim: Provide an overview of the literature addressing major areas pertinent to pain in transgender persons and to identify areas of primary relevance for future research.

Methods: A team of scholars that have previously published on different areas of related research met periodically though zoom conferencing between April 2021 and February 2023 to discuss relevant literature with the goal of providing an overview on the incidence, phenotype, and mechanisms of pain in transgender patients. Review sections were written after gathering information from systematic literature searches of published or publicly available electronic literature to be compiled for publication as part of a topical series on gender and pain in the Frontiers in Pain Research.

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Testosterone may reduce pain in cisgender women and transgender men. Rodents can provide a useful model for investigating physiological effects of hormone therapy. To this end, continuous-release testosterone or blank (placebo) capsules were implanted s.

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Although preclinical studies generally report robust antinociceptive effects of cannabinoids in rodent persistent pain models, randomized controlled trials in chronic pain patients report limited pain relief from cannabis/cannabinoids. Differences between animal and human studies that may contribute to these discrepant findings include route of cannabis/cannabinoid administration, type of cannabis/cannabinoid, and how pain is measured. To address these factors, rats with complete Freund adjuvant (CFA)-induced hind paw inflammation were exposed acutely or repeatedly to vaporized cannabis extract that was either tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD)dominant.

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Hit generation is a crucial step in drug discovery that will determine the speed and chance of success of identifying drug candidates. Many strategies are now available to identify chemical starting points, or hits, and each biological target warrants a tailored approach. In this set of best practices, we detail the essential approaches for target centric hit generation and the opportunities and challenges they come with.

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The study objective was to determine whether burrowing behavior is useful as a functional index of pain in both male and female rats, and whether a 'no-training' protocol can be used to increase testing efficiency. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were injected in one or both hindpaws with oil vehicle or complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA); starting the next day, the amount of gravel each rat burrowed out of a tube in 1 h was measured daily for ≤7 days. Without preliminary training on the burrowing procedure, CFA reliably suppressed burrowing for 2-3 days compared to controls, in both sexes.

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Cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), 2 of the primary constituents of cannabis, are used by some individuals to self-treat chronic pain. It is unclear whether the pain-relieving effects of CBD alone and in combination with THC are consistent across genders and among types of pain. The present study compared the effects of CBD and THC given alone and in combination in male and female rats with Complete Freund's adjuvant-induced inflammatory pain.

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Rationale: Adolescent cannabinoid exposure has been shown to alter cognitive, reward-related, and motor behaviors as well as mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) function in adult animals. Pain is also influenced by mesocorticolimbic DA function, but it is not known whether pain or cannabinoid analgesia in adults is altered by early exposure to cannabinoids.

Objective: To determine whether adolescent Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure alters pain-related behaviors before and after induction of persistent inflammatory pain, and whether it influences antinociceptive of THC, in adult rats, and to compare the impact of adolescent THC exposure on pain to its effects on known DA-dependent behaviors such as exploration and consumption of a sweet solution.

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Studies have demonstrated antinociceptive synergy between morphine and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in animals, but whether such synergy occurs against all types of pain and in humans is unclear. Because a majority of chronic pain patients are women, and sex differences in morphine and THC potencies have been observed in rodents, the present study examined sex-specific effects of morphine and THC given alone and in combination, in rats with persistent inflammatory pain. On day 1, baseline mechanical and thermal response thresholds, hindpaw weight-bearing, locomotor activity, and hindpaw thickness were determined.

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Objective: To test the anesthetic effect of a bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension (BLIS), used in a multiple-dose manner for up to 5 consecutive days.

Study Design: Prospective, randomized, experimental study.

Animals: A total of 30 male and female Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus), aged 97 (75-130) days and weighing 337.

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Cannabis use for pain relief is commonly reported, yet laboratory studies and clinical trials suggest that cannabinoids are weak analgesics, and it is unclear whether perceived reductions in pain from before to after cannabis use relate to factors such as dose, method of administration, phytocannabinoid content, or the age or gender of the user. We determined whether inhalation of cannabis decreased self-reported pain ratings as well as whether user gender, age, time, method of administration, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)/cannabidiol (CBD) content, or dose of cannabis contribute to changes in these ratings. We also examined whether tolerance may develop to the analgesic effects of cannabis over time.

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Phenotypic drug discovery has a long track record of delivering innovative drugs and has received renewed attention in the last few years. The promise of this approach, however, comes with several challenges that should be addressed to avoid wasting time and resources on drugs with undesired modes of action or, worse, false-positive hits. In this set of best practices, we go over the essential steps of phenotypic drug discovery and provide guidance on how to increase the chance of success in identifying validated and relevant chemical starting points for optimization: selecting the right assay, selecting the right compound screening library and developing appropriate hit validation assays.

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Cannabinoid receptors are a potential target for anti-inflammatory and pain therapeutics. There are two subtypes, CB and CB, and Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol activates both of them, providing an analgesic effect but also psychoactive side effects. The psychoactive side effects are considered to be caused by activation of CB, but not CB.

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The primary aim of this study was to examine sex differences in acute antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in rats. Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) was administered to adult Sprague-Dawley rats to induce pain and inflammation in one hindpaw; 2.5 h later, vehicle or a single dose of the NSAIDs ibuprofen (1.

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Chronic pain is the most common reason reported for using medical cannabis. The goal of this research was to determine whether the two primary phytocannabinoids, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), are effective treatments for persistent inflammatory pain. In experiment 1, inflammation was induced by intraplantar injection of Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA).

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Background: Despite the significant healthcare impact of acute kidney injury, little is known regarding prevention. Single-center data have implicated hypotension in developing postoperative acute kidney injury. The generalizability of this finding and the interaction between hypotension and baseline patient disease burden remain unknown.

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Use of cannabis to alleviate headache and migraine is relatively common, yet research on its effectiveness remains sparse. We sought to determine whether inhalation of cannabis decreases headache and migraine ratings as well as whether gender, type of cannabis (concentrate vs flower), delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, or dose contribute to changes in these ratings. Finally, we explored evidence for tolerance to these effects.

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Chemotherapeutic agents can cause peripheral neuropathy, a deleterious side effect of cancer treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) treatment has shown great potential for decreasing pain in numerous clinical pain conditions and in preclinical studies. This study was designed to test whether HBO2 might also be useful for treating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

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Given the use of cannabis as an analgesic by a broadening age range of patients, the aim of this study was to determine whether the antinociceptive effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) differ by age. The antinociceptive potency and efficacy of THC (1.0-18 mg/kg ip) was compared in male and female rats aged postnatal day 35-40 (adolescent), 60-70 (young adult), and 291-325 (middle-aged adult), using warm water tail withdrawal and paw pressure tests.

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Background: Although dantrolene effectively treats malignant hyperthermia (MH), discrepant recommendations exist concerning dantrolene availability. Whereas Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States guidelines state dantrolene must be available within 10 min of the decision to treat MH wherever volatile anesthetics or succinylcholine are administered, a Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia protocol permits Class B ambulatory facilities to stock succinylcholine for airway rescue without dantrolene. The authors investigated (1) succinylcholine use rates, including for airway rescue, in anesthetizing/sedating locations; (2) whether succinylcholine without volatile anesthetics triggers MH warranting dantrolene; and (3) the relationship between dantrolene administration and MH morbidity/mortality.

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Background: The recent NIH mandate to consider sex as a biological variable in preclinical research has focused attention on delineation of sex differences in behavior. To investigate mechanisms underlying sex differences in Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) effects, we examined the effects of sex and gonadal hormones on CB receptors in cerebellum, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and striatum.

Methods: Adult Sprague-Dawley rats underwent gonadectomy (GDX) or sham-GDX.

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Rationale: Humans typically self-administer cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) together repeatedly (as in cannabis, cannabis extract, or Sativex®) to relieve pain. It has been suggested that one benefit of the drug combination may be decreased tolerance development.

Objective: The present study compared the development of tolerance to the antinociceptive effects of THC given alone versus combined with CBD, in rats.

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Background: Educational research projects are often developed and implemented at a single institution. However, the research project methods and results may not be generalizable and able to be replicated successfully at other institutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the process of replicating an effective educational Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) event at multiple other institutions.

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