Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Burke Neurological Institute have created a new drug that may help people who suffer from long-lasting nerve pain.
This type of pain, also called chronic nerve pain or neuropathic pain, happens when nerves outside the brain and spine are damaged. It can cause a lot of discomfort and is often hard to treat with current medicines.
Many people with nerve pain take drugs like gabapentin or duloxetine. Gabapentin is usually used for seizures, and duloxetine is an antidepressant. These medicines help some people, but not everyone. They also can cause side effects like tiredness, dizziness, or upset stomach.
Another option is opioid painkillers, but they come with serious risks. Opioids can lead to addiction, bad side effects, and even death from overdose. Because of this, doctors and scientists have been looking for a safer way to treat nerve pain.
The new drug is called BP4L-18:1:1. It is not an opioid. It works by calming nerve cells that are too active. These overactive cells are one reason people feel nerve pain. The drug targets special proteins on the nerve cells called HCN ion channels. These proteins can act strangely and make the nerves send pain signals even when nothing is wrong.
The challenge is that these same HCN channels are also found in the brain and heart. If a drug affects those areas, it could cause serious problems. That’s why the research team, led by Dr. Gareth Tibbs, made a smart change.
They used a common anesthetic called propofol and added a special “anchor” to it. This anchor keeps the drug from getting into the brain, where it could cause unwanted effects.
The anchor works like a boat anchor—it keeps the drug in the right spot. The rest of the drug then works on the nerves to stop the pain signals. In tests on rats, the drug worked very well. It lowered their pain when taken by mouth, like a pill.
Dr. Steven Fox, who helped with the research, said this new medicine could change how we treat nerve pain. He believes it fixes the main problem without hurting other parts of the body. This could mean a much better life for people who suffer from nerve pain every day.
The next step is to do more tests and, if those go well, begin trials with people. The researchers hope this new treatment can be used safely by patients around the world. Their work is supported by the Daedalus Fund for Innovation, a program that helps turn new ideas into real medical solutions.
Since chronic nerve pain affects tens of millions of people, this discovery could be a big breakthrough. A drug that helps without the danger of addiction or bad side effects would offer real hope and relief to many.
If you care about pain, please read studies about how to manage your back pain, and Krill oil could improve muscle health in older people.
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The study was published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia.
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