A new type of painkiller has been created by researchers at the University of Nottingham (UoN), which is hoped to be a breakthrough in the treatment of chronic pain.
Resulting from several years of exploration and study, the drug will be used to help those suffering from chronic pain conditions such as traumatic nerve injuries, where solutions to pain are currently limited.
Research was carried out by UoN employees Dr Lucy Donaldson in the School of Life Sciences, with David Bates, Professor of Oncology in the Cancer Biology Unit.
Once it is fully complete this drug is expected to treat a number of pain-related conditions, such as nerve injuries, diabetes and pain caused by chemotherapy, but it will be some time before the drug is seen in pharmacies as it is still being developed for human use.
“The pain associated with nerve injury, such as may happen after a trauma, or that can affect people with diabetes, is often very difficult to treat”
Although the work is still at an early stage, Dr Donaldson explained its huge potential: “The pain associated with nerve injury, such as may happen after a trauma, or that can affect people with diabetes, is often very difficult to treat, and it is that sort of pain that we are currently targeting”.
The painkiller acts by using bodily functions to remove pain, which is achieved by working with types of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF), a signal protein. VEGF-a is found in cancers and arthritis, and causes pain, whilst VEGF-b (discovered by David Bates) blocks pain.
“This is a completely new way of treating pain”
Dr Donaldson described this process as a “completely new way of treating pain, as it uses the body’s own machinery to shift away from the form of VEGF that causes pain, to the one that blocks pain.”
When asked about her experience participating in this research, Donaldson said that “research is a long and often difficult process but it has many great points, not least the feeling of achievement that you get when you move one step closer to a possible new treatment for patients.”
“[Using this drug] would mean that I could actually go out and have fun, pain free”
This discovery has the potential to relieve many people of pain, which would be an enormous breakthrough for those who have suffered for a large part of their life already. A second year French student at UoN who suffers with chronic pain, said that the use and success of this painkiller “would mean that I could actually go out and have fun, pain free”, where current painkillers prevent this.
Behind this research are many other contributors who have been working together over a period of several years, backed with the funding of the Wellcome Trust, Diabetes UK, British Heart Foundation, Richard Bright VEGF Research Fund, and the University of Bristol. The painkiller is thought to have great potential, with high hopes for treating sufferers of chronic pain when it reaches the market.
Jasmine Nash
Image: Jason Rogers via flickr
