Experts find brain enzyme that makes pain last

wtaq.com

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Researchers working on mice have found an enzyme in the brain that appears to make pain last after nerve injury and they hope to use it as a new target to treat chronic pain in people.

In a paper published in Science magazine Friday, the scientists in Canada and South Korea said they managed to alleviate pain after blocking the enzyme.

"It provides us with basic understanding of the brain mechanism for chronic pain," lead author Min Zhuo, a physiology professor at the University of Toronto, wrote in an email.

"It not only provides a new possibility to design new pain medicine, but it also helps us to understand why many drugs fail to control chronic pain."

This is potentially good news for those who suffer from chronic pain, researchers are looking into developing new medicines to block this enzyme...

The CT side of me wonders if the discovery of this enzyme will actually lead to other researchers looking to develop ways of introducing this enzyme into folks who may hold information that is desired by certain people..

I am obviously not qualified to know if the nefarious scenario is plausible, but usually with every good found, someone is out there trying to use it for purposes not so good.

reply to post by JacKatMtn


Any guesses on how long before the american goverment try to use this to increase pain thresholds in soldiers?

Flagged and starred

reply to post by JacKatMtn


I agree that this could herald a much needed alternative to chronic pain treatment - which now consists basically of a slew of damaging and/or addictive drugs and little else.

Still, the implications here for "enhanced interrogation" are staggering... I wonder if a paper cut, that one can feel for days on end would be prohibited by the Geneva Conventions? Or if this discovery could lead to some kind of drug that could make a simple poke feel like breaking bones, without end?

I guess in the long run it's just a sad statement upon this world that we are taught that all clouds have silver linings and then learn that the opposite implication is also equally true.

~Heff

I wonder if this is what causes fibromyalgia.

Many people with fibro get no pain control from OTC pain meds and and somev get little from even powerful prescription pain meds.

This same enzyme Protein kinase M zeta (PKMzeta) has also been linked to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD
and the rates of co-morbid fibromyalgia are high in people with PTSD.
www.labmeeting.com... brain-regions-disrupts-traumatic-memory-processes-and-attenuates-traumatic-stress-responses

Now maybe the doctors that run into fibro and PTSD will get off this "ITS not a real disorder" "its all in your head" and start treating people with these disorders.

reply to post by ANNED


I have Fibro, and I can tell you that opiates has very little effect on me for that kind of pain. Tried oxycontin, codeine, hydrocodone (180mg/3 days and slept 6hrs total), morphine. Only dizziness, not much of a painkiller as far as I'm concerned.

Really hope they eventually find something to replace the 50% effectiveness of my actual treatment, which is composed of 5 types of meds. I'm in my 30s and surprised myself wishing I was a healthy 60 yrs old or a paraplegic.

for the find, JacKatMtn

Thanks bud! There is hope for me perhaps. I've been on heavy prescription pain meds for 3 years now and frankly they don't do much for me anymore. I can take too much and all it does it make me nauseous. Others would be out like a light if they took what I do
I'm not looking forward to breaking the addiction but it will be worth it.
Star and flag jack - thanks again.

The flipside of this has already been mentioned. You know the military will be exploring the uses and abuses of this find. The "pain necklaces" from star trek aren't far off now, are they?

I suffer from chronic back pain... and my options were...

surgery...

prescription pain meds...

or self medicating as needed with Anheuser Busch products..

I chose the third option

But I hope that this breakthrough leads to relief that does not include impairment or possible addiction...

As far as the CT angle... I blame that on my OCD from the 24 show.... can't wait to see what they come up with for the film..

As a sufferer of back pain as well I could see the upside to this as well. My only question is pain has a purpose correct? It's the bodies way of letting you know something is wrong, so by simply blocking it totally couldn't that lead to even more injury? Because you would have the illusion of feeling fine while obviously your not. Or did I take this the wrong way?

reply to post by jaynkeel


I see your point and that was one reason I shied away from the pain meds.. The pain is a signal... I use it to let me know when I have gone a bit overboard, like a timeout signal.. If I were on the meds, I think I would probably go to the point that it would require a week or so being bedridden as has happened in the past due to stubbornness or work requirement...

Perhaps, the benefit would be to make it easier for those with chronic pain issues to be able to get a good nights rest without the need to be drugged up?

It would be wonderful to be able to get that 8 hours rest sans pain... I would take that for starters...

reply to post by JacKatMtn


Jack, I had bad back pain some years ago due to a busted disc at L4/L5 which took me through the gamut of treatments - meds, surgical options (pass), nerve block injections, tens machine etc - none of which worked very well.
I did get relief once I started doing Yoga and stretching regularly and it hasn't me bothered me much since after 2 years of solid hell.
It's legal and easy to do, thought it might be worth mentioning to you.
Good luck with your back, I hope you can find some relief.

PS - my pain specialist took me off percocet once weed showed up on my urine test. You can't do both according to them.

Originally posted by loves a conspiricy

 

 

Not exactly off topic.....but hey....i must just be a hippy lol

You must have read it mr moderator.....so take my advice if you havent already