Abstract
The transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) analgesic effect is produced by β-endorphin release that interacts with captopril, a drug used for arterial hypertension treatment that affects thyroid hormones secretion, mainly 3,5,3′ triiodothyronine (T3). To study correlations between TENS (9 Hz×30 min), captopril, and T3, Mus musculus mice received nociceptive stimulation (writhe-induced model) and were treated with captopril (1 mg/kg) and TENS and had the T3 serum level evaluated. Results indicated that T3 serum level rose slightly after TENS application and captopril separately but increased more after captopril alone. In addition, the antinociceptive effect produced by electric stimulation was enhanced by captopril with a high statistical significance (p<0.001). Also, TENS–captopril treatment increased the T3 serum level to values 117.7% higher than control groups, reinforcing the supposed link between neuroelectric stimulation, captopril, and T3 secretion.