Study author Mark Zylka, PhD, and his lab injected PAP into the soft tissue area behind patients’ knees and noted that pain relief lasted 100 times longer than relief from a traditional acupuncture treatment. A single injection was also effective at reducing symptoms associated with inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain, the study found.
PAP injections can be used on any area where regional anesthesia is performed to treat pain, said Dr. Zylka, who serves as an associate professor in the department of cell and molecular physiology at the University of North Carolina Neuroscience Center. PAP also has the potential to last longer than a single injection of local anesthetic, he said.
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