Michel Barrot. Research Director (starting 2018 Institute director).
University of Strasbourg. Website
Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Université de Strasbourg). 5 rue Blaise Pascal, 67084 Strasbourg, France
Reseach subject
Chronic pain, neuropathic pain, antidepressant drugs, neuroanatomy, brain circuits
Summary
Neuropathic pain is a neurological syndrome resulting from lesions or pathologies of the somatosensory system. They affect a notable fraction of the population, impacting the quality of life of the patients, and they are challenging to treat. The development of neuropathic pain implies maladaptive changes in injured sensory neurons and along the entire nociceptive pathway within the central nervous system.
Among the recommended first-line treatments are antidepressant drugs and anticonvulsant drugs, i.e. molecules that were initially developed to treat other disorders of the nervous system. While the clinical efficacy of antidepressant drugs against neuropathic pain was established more than 30 years ago, there is little information on the underlying mechanism. However, understanding the therapeutic mechanism of these treatments could help to improve them, or even lead to new therapeutic approaches.
In a translational effort, our team gathers basic researchers and clinicians from Strasbourg Hospital to understand the anatomical, cellular and molecular basis of neuropathic pain treatments.
Publications
- Attal N, Barrot M. Is Pregabalin Ineffective in Acute or Chronic Sciatica? N Engl J Med. 2017 Mar 23;376(12):1169-1170.
- Barthas F, Humo M, Gilsbach R, Waltisperger E, Karatas M, Leman S, Hein L, Belzung C, Boutillier AL, Barrot M, Yalcin I. Cingulate Overexpression of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Phosphatase-1 as a Key Factor for Depression. Biol Psychiatry. 2017 Feb 14. pii: S0006-3223(17)30094-X.
- Sánchez-Catalán MJ, Faivre F, Yalcin I, Muller MA, Massotte D, Majchrzak M, Barrot M. Response of the Tail of the Ventral Tegmental Area to Aversive Stimuli. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2017 Feb;42(3):638-648.
- Salvat E, Schweitzer B, Massard G, Meyer N, de Blay F, Muller A, Barrot M. Effects of β2 agonists on post-thoracotomy pain incidence. Eur J Pain. 2015 Nov;19(10):1428-36. doi: 10.1002/ejp.673. Epub 2015 Mar 12.
- Barrot M. Ineffective VTA Disinhibition in Protracted Opiate Withdrawal. Trends Neurosci. 2015 Nov;38(11):672-3.