Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis and Stanford University have created a new compound that could help people with chronic pain.
This new treatment is based on molecules found in the cannabis plant but does not cause the high or lead to addiction like opioids or marijuana.
It may one day offer a safer alternative for the 50 million Americans suffering from long-term pain.
The study, published in the journal Nature, shows that this new compound relieves pain in mice without affecting the brain or causing tolerance. That means it could work for a long time without needing higher doses, unlike many current pain medications.
Dr. Susruta Majumdar, who led the research, explained that the compound was carefully designed to avoid the brain. It attaches only to pain-relieving receptors in the body. Because it doesn’t reach the brain, it avoids the side effects that can change mood or create feelings of pleasure that lead to addiction.
This design is important because current opioids, while effective, can be dangerous. They work by targeting the brain’s reward system and have led to high rates of addiction and overdose deaths—more than 82,000 in the U.S. in 2022 alone.
Cannabis, or marijuana, has been used for centuries to treat pain. However, its mind-altering effects make it difficult to use as a regular medicine. The compounds in cannabis work by activating a receptor called CB1, which is found both in the brain and in nerve cells that detect pain. The researchers wanted to keep the pain relief but remove the “high.”
To do this, they gave their new compound a positive charge, which stops it from entering the brain. It still reaches CB1 receptors in pain-sensing nerves in the rest of the body.
The scientists tested it in mice with nerve injuries and migraine-like symptoms. They used touch sensitivity as a way to measure pain, and the results showed that the new compound effectively reduced pain without causing side effects.
Even more promising, the compound worked over time without losing its effect. Many drugs, like opioids, lose their power as the body gets used to them. People then need higher doses to feel the same relief. In this study, mice treated twice a day for nine days didn’t build up a tolerance. The compound kept working without needing stronger doses.
This long-lasting effect is partly due to a clever design. Scientists at Stanford used computer models to find a hidden “pocket” on the CB1 receptor. Normally, this pocket is hard to reach, but the new compound was able to fit into it when the pocket briefly opened. Binding to this spot reduced the risk of tolerance developing, which is a big step forward.
Dr. Majumdar said it’s very hard to design painkillers that work well without harmful side effects, but this research gives hope. The team now plans to turn the compound into a pill that people can take by mouth. If successful, it could be tested in human clinical trials and possibly become a safer option for treating chronic pain in the future.
If you care about pain, please read studies about Scientists find a new way to manage knee pain and findings of Promising new drug offers hope for chronic nerve pain relief.
For more about pain, please read studies about Chronic morphine use for cancer pain may increase bone loss and findings of Scientists find a new hope for chronic pain.
The study is published in Nature.
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