People have been looking for pain relief since ancient times. They use various herbs, natural products, and pharmaceutical products to ease their pain.
A team of scientists led by Daniela Salvemini may have found a possible pain relief off switch.
The results of this interesting research have been published in the well-known medical journal Brain. Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D., a researcher at Saint Louis University, and her colleagues, together with the National Institutes of Health and other institutions, have studied a way to block a pain pathway.
These tests were conducted on animals with chronic neuropathic pain, including pain related to chemotherapeutic agents and bone cancer pain.
The results are encouraging, but they are early findings, and more research is needed before they can be applied to human patients.
The Key: The A3 Adenosine Receptor
According to the researchers, the key is activating the adenosine A3 receptor subtype.
They were able to block chronic nerve pain in lab rodents by activating a receptor in the brain and spinal cord. They deliberately used both male and female rodents, and the results were the same.
To do this, Salvemini (professor of pharmacological and physiological sciences) and her team activated the A3 receptor by using both the natural chemical stimulator (adenosine) and synthetic drugs created by the NIH. They used these two methods separately, and both worked. In the animals, activating the A3 receptor reduced the pain caused by nerve damage, and the researchers did not observe the side effects that are typical of some other pain medications.
Pain is an unpleasant physical and emotional feeling that occurs because of existing or threatening tissue damage. Pain is a direct result of complex electrochemical reactions, which are triggered by the body because of tissue damage.
People are looking for ways to ease their pain, and although there are effective pain relief products available today, some of them can have side effects. Chronic pain lasts a long time and doesn’t have any protective role. It can significantly decrease the quality of life. Chronic pain today is usually managed with medications that act on the opioid, adrenergic, and calcium channel pathways.
In the past ten years, researchers have focused on these pathways. They have examined the interactions between components on a molecular level that lead to pain. One of these components is adenosine. Although scientists have suggested that this component may be useful in chronic pain relief, they had not found a way to use it without side effects.
The research of Salvemini and her team suggests that the pain-relieving effects of adenosine may be triggered by activating the A3 adenosine receptor.
According to Salvemini, her study was based on previous research that had adenosine in its focus. She believes that future studies should be centered on the A3AR pathway.
Source: Saint Louis University
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always talk to your doctor about any health concern.