Influence of temporomandibular joint pain on sleep patterns: Role of nitric oxide

• Autor(a) principal: Schütz, Teresa Cristina Barros [UNIFESP]
• Data de Publicação: 2004
• Outros Autores: Andersen, Monica Levy [UNIFESP], Tufik, Sergio [UNIFESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNIFESP
• Texto Completo: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/154405910408300907; https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/44342
• topic: Orofacial pain; Sleep; Nitric oxide; L-NAME; L-arginine; Rat

Since nitric oxide is related to nociception and the sleep- wake cycle, this study sought to determine its involvement in the altered sleep pattern in a temporomandibular joint pain model by investigating the effect of the inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase ( L- NAME) and that of its precursor ( L- arginine). The temporomandibular joints of test animals were injected with Freund's adjuvant or saline, and their sleep was recorded. The procedure was repeated after the administration of L- NAME and L- arginine. L-NAME increased rapid eye movement ( REM) sleep in the control group. The orofacial pain group showed a reduction in total sleep time and an increase in sleep latency compared with the SHAM group. L- NAME increased sleep time, non- rapid eye movement ( NREM), and REM sleep and reduced sleep latency in the orofacial pain group. L- arginine did not alter sleep parameters. Thus, L- NAME improved sleep efficiency, whereas L- arginine did not modify it, suggesting the involvement of nitric oxide in painful temporomandibular joint conditions.