マウス研究が慢性疼痛と睡眠パターンの乱れを関連付け(Mouse study links chronic pain to disrupted sleep patterns)

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2025-09-04 ワシントン大学セントルイス校

ワシントン大学セントルイス校(WashU Medicine)の研究チームは、慢性疼痛と睡眠障害の関係を明らかにするための新しいマウスモデルを開発した。実験では、慢性痛を抱えるマウスが本来活動的である暗期(夜間)に過剰に眠ることが観察され、人間の慢性痛患者がよく訴える「日中の強い眠気」と類似する現象が示された。この発見により、慢性疼痛は単なる感覚の問題にとどまらず、睡眠リズムを根本的に乱すことが示唆された。新たなモデルは、疼痛と睡眠の相互作用の生物学的基盤を解明し、臨床での治療法や介入の開発に役立つと期待されている。成果は2025年6月、学術誌 Neuropsychopharmacology に掲載された。

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マウスの炎症性疼痛は、睡眠構造に光周期依存性の影響を誘発する Inflammatory pain in mice induces light cycle-dependent effects on sleep architecture

Dominika J. Burek,Khairunisa Mohamad Ibrahim,Andrew G. Hall,Ashish Sharma,Jessica A. Cucinello-Ragland,Erik S. Musiek,Jose A. Morón &William A. Carlezon Jr.
Neuropsychopharmacology  Published:22 June 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-025-02152-w

マウス研究が慢性疼痛と睡眠パターンの乱れを関連付け(Mouse study links chronic pain to disrupted sleep patterns)

Abstract

Pain syndromes include physical, sensory, emotional, and cognitive symptoms such as disability, negative affect, feelings of stress, and fatigue. Experimental induction of long-term inflammatory pain in rodents by hindpaw injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) produces anhedonia and dysregulated naturalistic behaviors, similar to the effects of unregulated stress. We examined whether these similarities extend to changes in sleep and rhythms, such as those induced by chronic social defeat stress, using actigraphy and wireless EEG in mice. Comparisons were made between groups that received injections at the onset of the light or dark phase. We found that CFA-induced inflammatory pain alters sleep architecture in both sexes; most notably, it increased sleep duration in the dark phase—when mice are normally more likely to be awake—while also increasing sleep bout length and reducing wake bout length. In contrast, during the light phase, it decreased sleep bout length, indicating fragmentation. Similarly, CFA-induced increases in REM and SWS duration and bouts were largest during the dark phase. Dark-phase effects were remarkably consistent regardless of whether the mice had been injected at darkness onset or 12 h earlier, whereas light-phase effects were more dependent on time since injection. Injections also produced non-specific alterations in circadian rhythmicity. Our findings indicate that inflammatory pain prominently increases sleep during normally active phases as well as transitions between sleep and wakefulness throughout the day. These effects align with clinical observations and establish a basis for mechanistic studies and use of these procedures to better predict outcomes in humans.

医療・健康
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