Recovery Sleep Does Not Mitigate the Effects of Prior Sleep Loss on Paclitaxel-Induced Mechanical Hypersensitivity in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Society has a rapidly growing accumulative sleep debt due to employment obligations and lifestyle choices that limit sleep opportunities. The degree to which poor sleep may set the stage for adverse symptom outcomes among more than 1.7 million persons who will be diagnosed with cancer is not entirely understood. Paclitaxel (PAC), a commonly used chemotherapy agent, is associated with painful, debilitating peripheral neuropathy of the hands and feet, which may persist long after adjuvant therapy is completed. The aims of this preclinical study were to determine the accumulative and sustained effects of sleep restriction on PAC-induced mechanical sensitivity in animals and whether there are male–female differences in mechanical sensitivity in PAC-injected animals. Sixty-two adult Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 31 females) were assigned to three cycles of intraperitoneal injections of PAC (1 mg/kg) versus vehicle (VEH; 1 ml/kg) every other day at light onset for 7 days, followed by seven drug-free days and to slee...