nonopioid

With the world in an opioid crisis, the development of non-opioid analgesics has become more urgent. A series of Phase 3 clinical trials into a novel oral, non-opioid painkiller has found that it’s effective in treating acute pain in both surgical and non-surgical settings.Voltage-gated sodium channels are key determinants for regulating the generation and spread of neuronal action potentials, or nerve impulses, electrical charges that travel along a neuron’s membrane. There are different types of sodium channels; NaV1.8…

Researchers have discovered a non-opioid compound that, in mice, effectively reduced the pain hypersensitivity associated with chronic and often debilitating nerve pain caused by diabetes or chemotherapy drugs. It’s opened the door to developing a drug to treat the condition for which existing painkillers do little.Diabetes, chemotherapy drugs, multiple sclerosis, injuries and amputations have all been associated with neuropathic pain, usually caused by damage to nerves in various body tissues, including the skin, muscles…

A sign hangs in front of the world headquarters of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston on Oct. 23, 2019.Brian Snyder | ReutersVertex Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday said its experimental painkiller, which is being tested as an alternative to addictive opioids, significantly decreased post-surgery pain in late-stage trialsThe drug, known as VX-548, did not work better than a popular opioid, however.Still, the trial results bring the biotech company one step closer to developing a drug that can provide strong pain relief without…

A sign hangs in front of the world headquarters of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston on Oct. 23, 2019.Brian Snyder | ReutersShares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals jumped Wednesday after the company's painkiller, which is being tested as an alternative to opioids, significantly decreased pain in a midstage trial.Those positive results for diabetes patients suffering from a chronic nerve condition support the biotech company's hopes to develop a drug that can provide strong pain relief without the addictive potential of opioids.…

Around one million people every year suffer from a parasitic condition known as cutaneous leishmaniasis. Spread by sandfly bites, the parasite causes nasty skin ulcerations but for many people the wounds are unexpectedly pain-free. For decades scientists have been puzzled by the mystery of these painless lesions.“No one knows why these lesions are painless – but it has been thought that the parasite somehow manipulates the host physiological system,” says Abhay Satoskar, senior author on a new study exploring the unusual…