Transsynaptic alteration of spinal cord dorsal horn neurons characterized by
hyperchromatosis of cytoplasm and nucleoplasm (so-calleddark'neurons) occurs in a rat
model of neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the common sciatic
nerve. The incidence of dark neurons in CCI rats has been proposed to be mediated by
glutamate-induced neurotoxicity. In the present study, we examined whether the inhibition of
the nitric oxide (NO)-activated poly (ADP-ribose) synthetase (PARS), a nuclear enzyme …