Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41809379›Full record

ArticleMaterials today. Bio2026

Nanocomposite hydrogel acupoint therapy for sustained pregabalin delivery and long-term neuropathic pain relief.

Xiping Duan, Manjing Li, Zifan Liu, Wenyu Chen, Tianlong Chan, Ruoxi Zhang, Jia Zhou, Yichun Xu, Ke Wang

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Materials today. Bio, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Xiping DuanAcupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200437, China.
Manjing LiResearch and Development Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai and Shanghai Biochip Limited Corporation, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Zifan LiuAcupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200437, China.
Wenyu ChenAcupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200437, China.
Tianlong ChanResearch and Development Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai and Shanghai Biochip Limited Corporation, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Ruoxi ZhangDepartment of Pharmacy Research, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200437, China.
Jia ZhouAcupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200437, China.
Yichun XuResearch and Development Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai and Shanghai Biochip Limited Corporation, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Ke WangAcupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Institute, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200437, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Neuropathic pain (NP) presents significant management challenges due to the limited efficacy and adverse effects associated with current therapeutic options. In this study, we present an innovative nanocomposite hydrogel designed for acupoint administration (PG@PLGA-gels) that synergistically combines nanomedicine with traditional acupuncture principles. This system is engineered by incorporating pregabalin (PG)-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles into a chitosan/β-glycerophosphate thermosensitive hydrogel, facilitating minimally invasive administration at the Huantiao (GB30) acupoint. Compared to PG solution, PG@PLGA-gels exhibited a sustained drug release profile, extending over 12 days, with an initial release of 46.44% within the first 24 h, and increased systemic exposure by a factor of 2.6-fold. Following acupoint injection, plasma PG concentrations reached their peaked at 16 h (7985.94 ± 96.19 ng/mL) and remained detectable for up to 288 h, whereas PG solution peaked at 4 h (4928.33 ± 124.71 ng/mL) and declined to near-baseline levels by 192 h. In rat models of paclitaxel-induced neuropathy and chronic constriction injury, acupoint administration of PG@PLGA-gels significantly mitigates mechanical and cold allodynia from day 8 to day 20, while no obvious sedation-related behaviors were observed. Transcriptomic analysis identified treatment-associated changes in spinal cord gene expression profiles, with enrichment in pathways related to neuronal structure, synaptic organization, excitatory signaling, and neuroendocrine regulation. Together, these results support PG@PLGA-gels as an acupoint nanomedicine platform that combines controlled drug delivery with acupoint-based modulation to achieve prolonged analgesia with minimized adverse effects.

Indexed as

Acupoint injectionNanocomposite hydrogelNeuropathic painPLGA nanoparticlesPregabalin

Identifiers

PMID41809379
PMCPMC12969086

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.