Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Virally initiated pain states occur across a wide range of species and viral families, but the mechanisms by which viral infection produces acute or chronic pain remain incompletely understood. This perspective is based on the presentation, “The Puzzle of Virally Induced and Sustained Pain States”, delivered at the 2025 International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium (IVECCS) held in San Diego, California, September 4–8, 2025. Drawing on representative viral models, this perspective organizes mechanisms of virally initiated pain into three overlapping routes: direct neuronal infection or receptor activation, indirect modulation through non-neuronal and immune cells within infected tissue, and systemic immune signaling originating outside of the nervous system. By highlighting shared and distinct mechanisms across viral models, this comparative framework aims to guide mechanistic investigation and identify potential therapeutic targets for virally initiated pain across human and veterinary medicine.
Source: Frontiers in Pain Research
Author: Sara Anna Dochnal
Institution: University of California System
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,077
OpenAlex ID: W7225661711