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Chronic pain 'could be switched off'21 July 2006 Researchers from Columbia University Medical Centre believe they may have come up with a way of 'switching off' chronic pain. Scientists believe they have discovered a protein in nerve cells that acts as a 'switch' for pain and have developed a new class of drugs that can block this pain by turning the switch off. Figures show that chronic pain affects approximately 48 million people in the US and current medications are mostly ineffective or have unpleasant side effects. Past attempts at alleviating chronic pain have focussed on second order neurons in the spinal chord which relay pain messages to the brain. However, it is difficult to inhibit the activity of these neurons with drugs because the drugs need to overcome the blood-brain barrier - a physical barrier of membrane which restricts the flow of substances into the brain. Researchers are now working on the more accessible first order neurons that lie in the periphery of our body and send messages to the spinal chord. "We're very optimistic that this discovery and our continued research will ultimately lead to a novel approach to pain relief for the millions suffering from chronic pain," comments Dr Richard Ambron, professor of cell biology at the university commented. Chronic pain occurs when the activity of the first and the second order neurons persists after the damaged neuron heals or the inflammation of the tissues subsides. More information
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