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Wirkung von Oxytocin auf das menschliche Schmerzerleben

Effect of oxytocin on human pain perception

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Zusammenfassung

Hintergrund

Die Wirkung des körpereigenen Hormons Oxytocin und dessen Nützlichkeit für die Schmerztherapie werden in der Forschung über die letzten Jahre vermehrt untersucht und diskutiert. Erste Studienergebnisse konnten bereits die Effekte des Hormons in Bezug auf Geburtsvorgang und Stillen hervorheben. Diverse Tierstudien konnten zudem die Wirksamkeit auf Bindungsverhalten und Schmerzempfinden belegen. Unklar ist allerdings nach wie vor, wie Oxytocin auf das menschliche Schmerzerleben wirkt. Die potenzielle therapeutische Wirksamkeit von Oxytocin könnte für die Primär- und Sekundärversorgung von Schmerzpatienten besonders bedeutsam sein, da es in diesem Bereich verstärkt zu Schmerzchronifizierung kommen kann.

Methoden

Die Datenbanken PubMed, Medline und PsycINFO wurden auf die Begriffe Oxytocin, „pain“, „human“, „analgesic“ durchsucht. Die Suche nach Originalarbeiten ergab insgesamt 89 Artikel, nachdem Studien zu Schmerzen bei Geburt, Stillen und Tierstudien ausgeschlossen worden waren. Es wurden nur Studien eingeschlossen, welche zwischen 1994 und 2015 durchgeführt wurden. Es konnten insgesamt 17 Studien für dieses Review verwendet werden. Davon befassten sich 13 Studien mit der Applikation von Oxytocin und 4 weitere Studien mit der Messung von Oxytocin im Plasma.

Schlussfolgerung

Dieses Review soll einen Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungsstand von Oxytocin und dessen direkten und indirekten Zusammenhang mit dem menschlichen Schmerzerleben geben und die daraus resultierenden Konsequenzen für die multimodale Schmerztherapie hervorheben.

Abstract

Background

Over the years the effect of the neuropeptide oxytocin and its possible utilization for pain management has been increasingly more investigated and discussed. Initial results emphasized the effects of oxytocin with respect to labor and breastfeeding. Diverse animals studies were also able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the peptide in attachment behavior and pain perception; however, it is still unclear how oxytocin affects pain perception in humans. The potential therapeutic effectiveness of oxytocin could be particularly important for primary and secondary treatment of pain patients because chronification of pain can occur more frequently in this area.

Methods

For this review the databases PubMed, Medline und PsycINFO were searched using the terms oxytocin, pain, human and analgesic. The search resulted in a total of 89 original articles after excluding articles regarding labor pain, breastfeeding and animal studies. Only those studies were included which were carried out between 1994 and 2015. A total of 17 articles remained for inclusion in this review and included 13 studies on the exogenous application of oxytocin and 4 on measurement of oxytocin levels in plasma.

Conclusion

This review article gives a summary of the current state of research on oxytocin and its direct and indirect association with human pain perception and emphasizes its relevance for the multimodal management of pain.

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Danksagung

Die Erstellung des Reviews wurde von der privaten Stiftung Psychosomatik der Wirbelsäulenerkrankungen unterstützt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tagesklinik für Schmerztherapie, Konservative Orthopädie, Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Schlierbacher Landstr. 200a, 69118, Heidelberg, Deutschland

    A.-C. Pfeifer, E. Neubauer & M. Schiltenwolf

  2. Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, Zentrum für Psychosoziale Medizin (ZPM), Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Deutschland

    B. Ditzen

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  1. A.-C. Pfeifer
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  2. B. Ditzen
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Correspondence to A.-C. Pfeifer.

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A.-C. Pfeifer, B. Ditzen, E. Neubauer und M. Schiltenwolf geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht.

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Pfeifer, AC., Ditzen, B., Neubauer, E. et al. Wirkung von Oxytocin auf das menschliche Schmerzerleben. Schmerz 30, 457–469 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00482-016-0164-z

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