Chemicals called opioids found to relieve neuropathic pain in mice

Washington, January 13 (ANI): Conducting experiments on mice, a group of German researchers has shown that chemicals known as opiods reduce the symptoms of neuropathic pain.

Halina Machelska and colleagues, at Freie Universitat Berlin, describe neuropathic pain as the pain that is associated with injury to nerves, such as caused by the trauma of amputation, entrapment, and compression.

The researchers point out that it can be extremely debilitating, and treatments show limited or no effectiveness.

They also reveal that nerve injury underlying neuropathic pain is associated with an inflammatory response, and immune cells are thought to be contributors to the pain.

For their study, the researchers conducted experiments with a mouse model of neuropathic pain.

Based on their observations, the researchers came to the conclusion that selectively targeting opioid-containing immune cells at sites of nerve injury could provide natural pain relief, and offer a novel approach for neuropathic pain. (ANI)