Promising Drug for Pain May Produce Unwanted Side Effects

Pain researchers found a drug that has shown early promise as an option for chronic, severe pain may decrease the body's ability to fight off bacterial infections, according to a news release.

Scientists studied the effects of two different medications in animal models. Resiniferatoxin and capsazepine are known to impact TRPV1, an ion receptor channel that signals sharp, painful stimuli to the brain and triggers a pain response. These drugs block the activation of the TRPV1 receptor in different ways.

The researchers found that the chemical reaction after taking resiniferatoxin also negatively impacts the body's reaction to bacterial infections by altering cytokine and chemokine expression, signaling molecules which are key to the natural immune response to bacteria.

Read the news release about resiniferatoxin.

Related Articles on Pain Management:
Kentucky AG Office Says County Governments Cannot Ban Pain Clinics
Opioid Pain Medications Drive "Epidemic" of Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths
North Carolina Pain Management Physician Pleads Guilty to Healthcare Fraud

© Copyright ASC COMMUNICATIONS 2012. Interested in LINKING to or REPRINTING this content? View our policies by clicking here.