Alex Binshtok Ph.D. Instructor in Anesthesia Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital Neural Plasticity Research Group Harvard Medical School 149 13th Street, Rm. 4309 Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129-2000 E-mail: abinshtok@partners.org TEL: 617-726-9389 FAX: 617-724-3632

Background

Alex received his B.S. in Physical Therapy from the Ben Gurion University in Israel.  He joined the NPRG at 2006 after receiving a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel where he studied membranal and synaptical properties of cortical neurons. His current research interests focus on 1) Direct effect of cytokines on excitability of primary sensory neurons to contribute to peripheral and central sensitization and to inflammatory pain; 2) Mechanisms of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) producing pain and in particular the effect of BH4 on excitability of primary sensory neurons; 3) Development of novel local anesthetics 4) Changes in synaptic properties of primary and secondary order sensory neurons following nerve injury 5)The effect of prostaglandin and bradykinin on nociceptors to contribute to inflammatory pain.

Publications:

Fleidervish IA, Binshtok AM, Gutnick MJ.Functionally distinct NMDA receptors mediate horizontal connectivity in layer IV of mouse barrel cortex. Neuron. 21:1055-1065, 1998.  

Binshtok AM, Fleidervish IA, Sprengel R, Gutnick MJ.NMDA receptors in layer 4 spiny stellate cells of the mouse barrel cortex contain the NR2C subunit.  Journal of Neuroscience; 26(2):708-715, 2006.  

Binshtok AM, Bean BP, and Woolf CJ.Inhibition of nociceptors by TRPV1-mediated entry of impermeant sodium channel blockers. Nature,  449 (7162): 607-611, 2007.    Accompanied by Editorial News and Views
This paper was rated “Exceptional” and gained factor of 11.2 in “Faculty of 1000 Medicine”
This paper was rated “Exceptional” and gained factor of 10.4 in “Faculty of 1000 Biology

Gerner P, Binshtok AM, Wang CF, Hevelone ND, Bean BP, Woolf CJ, Wang GK. Capsaicin combined with local anesthetics preferentially prolongs sensory/nociceptive block in rat sciatic nerve.
Anesthesiology, V 109, No 5: 872-878, 2008.  Accompanied by cover

Binshtok AM, Wang H, Zimmermann K, Amaya F, Vardeh D, Shi L, Brenner G,  Ji RR, Bean BP, Woolf CJ, Samad TA . Nociceptors are interleukin-1b sensors. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(52):14062–14073, 2008.  Accompanied by Editorial “This Week In Journal”

Dib-Hajj SD, Binshtok AM, Cummins TR, Jarvis MF, Samad TA, Zimmermann K. Voltage-gated sodium channels in pain states: role in pathophysiology and targets for treatment. 
Brain Research Reviews, in press.