Mediators of Inflammation as Targets for Chronic Pain Treatment

Call for Papers

The management of chronic pain represents an unsolved problem in clinical practice. A common underlying mechanism of a chronic pain is the presence of inflammation at the site of the damaged or affected tissue. The release of proinflammatory and immunoactive substances such as cytokines, neurotrophic factors, and chemokines initiates local actions and can result in a more generalized immune response that leads to the chronic pain condition. Recent studies indicate a strong communication between the immune, endocrine, and nervous system, including microglial and astroglial cells, in the maintenance of chronic pain. The knowledge of the signalling pathways between them is crucial to identify new therapeutic targets and offer new therapeutic possibilities in the threatment of chronic pain.

Articles for this special issue should be a continuation of present research trends and should focus on current knowledge of the role of mediators of inflammation in chronic pain, particularly molecular mechanisms, signalling molecules, and their role in the initiation and maintenance of chronic pain, as well as the interactions between inflammatory mediators and immune, endocrine, and nerve system. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Molecular pathways of chronic pain
• Mediators of inflammation in neuropathic pain
• Mediators of inflammation in cancer pain
• Neuroinflammation and chronic pain
• Endocrine system and chronic pain
• The role of microglia in chronic pain
• The role of astrocytes in chronic pain
• Neuronal-glial interactions in chronic pain
• Signalling pathways as a target for the treatment of chronic pain
• Pharmacogenomics and the management of chronic pain

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/mi/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/mi/pain/ according to the following timetable:

Lead Guest Editor

• Metoda Lipnik-Stangelj, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Toxicology, Korytkova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Guest Editors

• Mila Vlaskovska, Medical University of Sofia, Department of Pharmacology, 1143 Sofia, Bulgaria
• Marshall Devor, The Hebrew University, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel
• Gila Moalem-Taylor, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia
• Anna Maria Aloisi, University of Siena, Department of Physiology, Pain and Stress Neurophysiology Lab., Via Also Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy