Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Burke Neurological Institute have discovered a promising new drug to help those living with chronic nerve pain.
This drug is unique because it does not belong to the opioid class, unlike many current pain medications. Initial tests show that it helps reduce pain without causing side effects in rats.
Targeting Nerve Pain Directly
Chronic nerve pain, or neuropathic pain, often comes from damage to the nerves outside our brain. It affects tens of millions of people worldwide and is notoriously tricky to treat.
Presently, the first choice of treatment includes the antiepileptic drug gabapentin and the antidepressant duloxetine. However, these don’t work well and can cause significant side effects.
Opioid painkillers, while often used, are also not very effective and can lead to severe side effects, including addiction and potentially fatal overdosing.
The researchers’ innovative approach was sparked by several different research paths and an unexpected insight from oceanography.
They found that chronic nerve pain, caused by overactive nerve cells, was partly due to an unusual amount of activity in specific proteins.
These proteins, named HCN ion channels, are spread across the neurons’ cell membrane. However, it’s challenging to target these channels without causing severe side effects, as they’re also found in the heart and the brain.
The New Drug: How It Works
The new drug, known as BP4L-18:1:1, was conceived by lead author Dr. Gareth Tibbs. It works by calming the overactive nerve cells responsible for causing pain.
Tibbs proposed that by attaching a particular chemical “anchor” to a common anesthetic drug, propofol, the new molecule could both stay out of the brain and calm the overactive nerve cells.
It’s a bit like how a boat anchor keeps the boat steady in the water. The anchor keeps the drug outside the brain, while the rest of the molecule sinks into the nerve cells’ outer layer to quiet the overactive channels causing the pain.
The results showed that BP4L-18:1:1 has the right properties to be an effective drug. What’s even more encouraging is that it worked well when given orally, like a pill, in rodent tests.
Next Steps and Potential Impact
The study’s results are promising. If future tests continue to go well, the researchers plan to begin a clinical trial.
“This new drug has the potential to change how we treat chronic nerve pain,” said Dr. Steven Fox, founder of Akelos.
“It treats the root cause of pain without any harmful side effects. This study shows that it works, and it represents a new direction in medicine.”
The study underscores the crucial role of the Daedalus Fund for Innovation in promoting early-stage technologies.
The Fund aims to advance technologies to a point where they are ready for partnerships and commercial development.
As we move forward, this drug could bring significant benefits to those living with chronic nerve pain. It could be a game-changer, offering hope to millions of people suffering from this condition.
If you care about pain, please read studies about how to manage your back pain, and exercise harder if you want to ward off pain due to ageing.
For more information about pain, please see recent studies about how to live pain-free with arthritis, and results showing common native American plant may help reduce diarrhea and pain.
The study was published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia.
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