UVa scientists discover new type of nerve cell that could be target for drugs to ease pain
We all know that if you put your hand over an open flame its very painful. What you may not know is that, for some people, just lying under a blanket is painful as well. They have neuropathic pain–annoying, chronic pain that comes from a diseased nerve cell rather than a specific stimulus. Feeling phantom pain in a missing limb is another, more famous, example.
Experts say up to two percent of the U.S. population suffers from neuropathic pain. But this pain generally responds poorly to analgesics and other standard treatment and get worse over time, causing permanent disability in some people. Now there may be new hope for these pain sufferers.
Scientists at the University of Virginia Health System have identified a new type of pain-sensing neuron in rats, which are unusually dense in a subtype of calcium channels called T-type channels. It is possible that these “T-rich cells” could be targets for future therapies to treat neuropathic pain as well as acute onset pain, which can happen after invasive surgery or inflammation.
A UVa anesthesiologist, Dr. Slobodan Todorovic, and his colleagues identified these novel cells and believe that the T-type calcium channels in them may serve as a volume control for pain impulses. “We hope that this new type of neuron will be amenable to new therapies. The next step will be to find a drug to block the action of these calcium channels,” Todorovic said.
It was once thought that calcium channels were only important for brain function. But, Todorovic and his team show that the T-type channels are important to the functioning of peripheral nerves, especially when the nerves are injured.
A PhD student in UVas neuroscience graduate program, Mike Nelson, discovered these T-rich nerve cells in Todorovic lab. “Its very exciting to make an initial observation like this,” Nelson said. “Its one reason we go to grad school in the first place.” There are no drugs now that effectively treat neuropathic pain, Nelson added. “Hopefully, observations like this will lead to new and more efficacious drugs in the future. Our findings are another piece of evidence that these calcium channels are excellent targets for new analgesic development.”
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.virginia.eduAll latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Results for control of pollutants in water
Brazilian scientists tested a simple and sustainable method for monitoring and degrading a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, compounds present in fossil fuels and industrial waste. An article published in the journal Catalysis…
A tandem approach for better solar cells
Perovskite-based solar cells were first proved in 2009 to have excellent light-absorbing properties of methylammonium lead bromide and methylammonium lead iodide, collectively referred to as lead halide perovskites or, more…
The behavior of ant queens is shaped by their social environment
Specialization of ant queens as mere egg-layers is reversible / Queen behavioral specialization is initiated and maintained by the presence of workers. The queens in colonies of social insects, such…