Decreased spinal endomorphin-2 contributes to mechanical allodynia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) plays a major role in decreased life quality of diabetes patients, however, the neural mechanisms underlying DNP remain unclear. Endomorphins are the endogenous ligands for mu-opioid receptor. There is increasing evidence implicating the involvement of spinal endomorphin-2 (EM2) in neuropathic pain.