Ana David-Pereira (London, GB), Joseph Lloyd (London, GB), Charlotte Leese (Sheffield, GB), Bazbek Davletov (Sheffield, GB; San Diego, CA, US), Anna P. Andreou (London, GB)
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is the most common type of craniofacial chronic neuropathic pain. TN is characterized by short electric shock-like pain paroxysms in areas enervated by the trigeminal nerve. Acute treatments are ineffective, and preventative drugs lack specificity, efficacy, and often have severe side effects. To address these limitations, recombinant botulinum toxin-based molecules with retained analgesic effects and minimal paralytic side effects have been developed. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of a non-paralytic recombinant botulinum toxin A (BoNT/A) molecule - el-Bitox/A, compared to native BoNT/A in a model of TN.
Nociceptive behavioral responses in a rat infraorbital nerve chronic constriction injury (IoN-CCI) model of TN were measured for 7 weeks post-surgery. von Frey filaments were used to assess the efficacy of el-Bitox/A (20ng) and BoNT/A (5U) in reversing mechanical allodynia. Compounds were injected subcutaneously into the ipsilateral side. Bodyweight was monitored as an indirect measure of facial paralysis.
Both el-Bitox/A (n=7; P