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A
breakthrough means to ease pain for millions of patients has been discovered by
US researchers – and it’s right inside our body.
Scientists
at St. Louis University, Missouri, blocked a pain pathway in rodents using a
receptor called A3, which is located in rats’ brains and spinal cords, and acts
against intense feelings of discomfort.
The
latest study was published in the medical journal, Brain.
A3
is activated by adenosine, a native chemical stimulator, or synthetic drugs,
and brings pain relief, or prevents pain.
“It
has long been appreciated that harnessing the potent pain-killing effects of
adenosine could provide a breakthrough step towards an effective treatment for
chronic pain,” Daniela Salvemini, Professor of
pharmacological and physiological sciences at the university, said, as quoted
by the Daily Mail.
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This
new method of pain relief could prevent side effects existing in today’s
pain-relief drugs: addiction and increasing tolerance. Other issues include “intolerable side effects that result in
discontinued use, inadequate pain relief, and diminished quality of life."
The
existing drugs function via certain "pathways":
circuits involving opioid, adrenergic, and calcium channels.
Should
the finding prove successful, it could result in the development of
breakthrough, non-addictive drugs for millions of pain sufferers.
“Our
findings suggest that this goal may be achieved by focusing future work on the
A3AR pathway, in particular, as its activation provides robust pain reduction
across several types of pain,” Salvemini said.
Adenosine is also being
examined as an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent.
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