- Section 1 Historical
- Chapter 1 Local anaesthetic substitutes for cocaine
- Chapter 2 Innovative concepts in pain management
- Chapter 3 Explaining reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Chapter 4 The rediscovery of paracetamol
- Chapter 5 The pharmacology of placebos
- Chapter 6 Understanding the responsiveness of C-fibres
- Chapter 7 A new theory of pain
- Chapter 8 Three determinants of pain
- Chapter 9 Purinergic nerves
- Chapter 10 Genetic differences in opiate receptors
- Chapter 11 Endogenous opioids in placebo-induced analgesia
- Chapter 12 Ethical pain experimentation in conscious animals
- Chapter 13 Local anaesthetic creams
- Chapter 14 The back pain revolution
- Chapter 15 The mechanism of aspirin
- Chapter 16 Mechanisms of visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome
- Chapter 17 The effects of morphine on the CNS
- Chapter 18 Opioids in palliative care
- Chapter 19 Endogenous opioids in the CNS
- Chapter 20 Spinal opioid analgesia in the rat
- Section 2 Firsts
- Section 3 Science
- Section 4 Clinical
- Section 5 Mechanisms
- Section 6 Neuropathic
- Section 7 Psychosocial
- Section 8 Genetics
(p. 31) Purinergic nerves: A new type of nerve
- Chapter:
- (p. 31) Purinergic nerves: A new type of nerve
- Author(s):
Guy Rousseau
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780198834359.003.0009
It was in 1972 that Burnstock laid the foundation of a new nerve type that he called ‘purinergic nerves’. In this article, he presented experimental data using five criteria to establish that adenosine triphosphate can be considered to be a neurotransmitter, including (1) the release of a purinergic molecule from terminal axons, (2) the structures of purinergic nerves, (3) the electrophysiological properties of purinergic transmission, (4) the pharmacology of adenyl compounds and purinergic transmission, and (5) the distribution and evolution of the purinergic nerves. However, in spite of convincing data, it took more than 20 years for the scientific community to accept this hypothesis. Since then, it has been recognized that the purinergic system is involved in multiple short-term actions such as cell proliferation and pain.
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- Section 1 Historical
- Chapter 1 Local anaesthetic substitutes for cocaine
- Chapter 2 Innovative concepts in pain management
- Chapter 3 Explaining reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Chapter 4 The rediscovery of paracetamol
- Chapter 5 The pharmacology of placebos
- Chapter 6 Understanding the responsiveness of C-fibres
- Chapter 7 A new theory of pain
- Chapter 8 Three determinants of pain
- Chapter 9 Purinergic nerves
- Chapter 10 Genetic differences in opiate receptors
- Chapter 11 Endogenous opioids in placebo-induced analgesia
- Chapter 12 Ethical pain experimentation in conscious animals
- Chapter 13 Local anaesthetic creams
- Chapter 14 The back pain revolution
- Chapter 15 The mechanism of aspirin
- Chapter 16 Mechanisms of visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome
- Chapter 17 The effects of morphine on the CNS
- Chapter 18 Opioids in palliative care
- Chapter 19 Endogenous opioids in the CNS
- Chapter 20 Spinal opioid analgesia in the rat
- Section 2 Firsts
- Section 3 Science
- Section 4 Clinical
- Section 5 Mechanisms
- Section 6 Neuropathic
- Section 7 Psychosocial
- Section 8 Genetics