Pharmacology of Pain

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INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
M. Rocha e Silva
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Pre to,
Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil
A systematic search for chemical mediators of pain started with the
experiments by Armstrong et al. (1953) comparing the pain effects pro-
duced by several agents when injected intradermally or applied to the base
of a cantharidin blister area. Fresh plasma was found to be inactive, but
after storage in glass recipients or when shaken with glass beads, it pro-
duced a typical delayed pain sensation when applied to the blister area.
To the principle generated under such conditions the noncommital name
of PPS was given. Since then, an increasing number of individuals have
been submitted in Armstrong and Keele's laboratory to experiments of
inflicting pain by plasma shaken with glass ballotini comparing its effects
with polypeptides of the bradykinin type. I was myself one of the first vic-
tims of such drastic treatment, and remember very well asking Prof. Keele
to apply a drop of trypsin upon the base of "my" cantharidin blister
area. For a long time since, I have kept on my arm the scar of such rash
behavior, but am glad to know that such a sacrifice was not in vain and
to a certain extent I have also contributed to clarifying such an important
point as the chemical mediation of pain, with its many pharmacological,
medical and religious implications. Vissza