The hot substance found in chillies can block chronic pain
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A new study shows the ‘hot’ substance found in chilli peppers could create a new type of painkiller to stop pain at its source
The research, carried out by the University of Texas, says a substance similar to capsaicin, which is the ingredient that makes chilli peppers hot, is generated at the site of pain in the human body.
The team found blocking this substance can stop chronic pain.
Capsaicin causes a burning sensation by binding to receptors present in cells.
Lab work on mice showing that by blocking out the gene for the receptors, there was no sensitivity to capsaicin, therefore no pain.
Most addictive pain killers target the central nervous system, but this new painkiller which is not yet on the market, will target the pain at its source.
Dr Kenneth Hargreaves, senior researcher at the Dental School at the University of Texas said, ‘This is a major breakthrough in understanding the mechanisms of pain and how to more effectively treat it. We have discovered a family of endogenous capsaicin-like molecules that are naturally released during injury, and now we understand how to block these mechanisms with a new class of non-addictive therapies.”
Dr Hargreaves hopes the drugs will be used to treat chronic pain, such as with cancer and inflammatory diseases including arthritis.
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