Salmon Calcitonin Reduces Oxaliplatin-Induced Cold and Mechanical Allodynia in Rats

Oxaliplatin is commonly used anti-cancer drugs, but it frequently causes peripheral neuropathic pain. Recently, we reported that elcatonin, a synthetic analog of eel calcitonin, attenuated the oxaliplatin- and paclitaxel-induced cold and mechanical allodynia in rats. In the present study, we determined whether salmon calcitonin also had anti-allodynic effects on oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy in rats. The rats were treated with a single dose of oxaliplatin (6 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.)). Oxaliplatin resulted in cold and mechanical allodynia. We assessed the anti-allodynic effects of subcutaneously administered salmon calcitonin (20 U/kg/d) by cold stimulation (8 degrees C) directly to the hind paw of the rats and by using the von Frey test. Salmon calcitonin almost completely reversed the effects of both cold and mechanical allodynia. These results suggest that salmon calcitonin is also useful for treatment of oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy clinically.