(Press-News.org) BUFFALO, N.Y. -- University at Buffalo neuroscience researchers conducting basic research on ion channels have demonstrated a process that could have a profound therapeutic impact on pain.
Targeting these ion channels pharmacologically would offer effective pain relief without generating the side effects of typical painkilling drugs, according to their paper, published in a recent issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
"Pain is the most common symptom of injuries and diseases, and pain remains the primary reason a person visits the doctor," says Arin Bhattacharjee, PhD, UB assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the School of Medicine and Biological Sciences, director of the Program in Neuroscience and senior author on the paper.
"Fifty million Americans suffer from chronic pain, costing between $100-200 billion a year in medical expenses, lost wages and other costs," says Bhattacharjee. "The need to understand pain mechanisms remains paramount for human health and for society."
Inflammatory pain can result from penetration wounds, burns, extreme cold, fractures, arthritis, autoimmune conditions, excessive stretching, infections and vasoconstriction.
"There are efficacious treatments for inflammatory pain, such as corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs," says Bhattacharjee, "but the adverse side effects associated with these drugs limit their long-term use and compromise patient compliance. As a result, there is a great need to understand the cellular processes involved in inflammatory pain to create less toxic, less addictive, analgesic drugs."
Pain-responsive nerve cells, known as nociceptors, are electrical cells that normally respond to pain stimuli. Nociceptors then relay information to the central nervous system, indicating the location, nature and intensity of the ensuing pain. Nociceptors are sensitized during inflammation, their ionic properties are altered and their firing characteristics changes. This sensitization causes a state of "hyperalgesia," or increased sensitivity to pain.
"Merely touching the inflamed area can be very painful," notes Bhattacharjee. "The ionic mechanisms that are chiefly responsible for this inflammatory-mediated change in nociceptive firing had not been clearly identified.
"We were able to demonstrate that a certain class of potassium channels is removed from the surface of nociceptive cells during inflammatory signaling. The removal of these ion channels is linked to the hypersensitivity of these nerve cells. We demonstrated that reducing the expression of these channels by gene interference techniques produced a similar nociceptor hyperexcitability. "
Bhattacharjee says his team plans to extend their ion channel "trafficking" studies to in vivo models, using peptide inhibitors to try to prevent the removal of the potassium channels from the surface of nociceptors during inflammation.
"We expect to show that maintaining these channels at the surface during inflammation will be effective for pain relief. Successful completion of our studies will provide the impetus for direct human clinical trials.
Megan O. Nuwer, PhD, and Kelly E. Picchione, PhD, both in the neuroscience program, are co-authors on the paper.
### The study was supported by a Junior Faculty Award from the American Diabetes Association and a John R. Oishei Foundation Grant to Bhattacharjee.
The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.
END
With frigid temperatures already blanketing much of the United States, the arrival of the winter solstice on December 21 may not be an occasion many people feel like celebrating. But a dazzling total lunar eclipse to start the day might just raise a few chilled spirits.
Early in the morning on December 21 a total lunar eclipse will be visible to sky watchers across North America (for observers in western states the eclipse actually begins late in the evening of December 20), Greenland and Iceland. Viewers in Western Europe will be able to see the beginning stages of ...
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is allowing researchers to create the most precise and complete map to date of the moon's complex, heavily cratered landscape.
"This dataset is being used to make digital elevation and terrain maps that will be a fundamental reference for future scientific and human exploration missions to the moon," said Dr. Gregory Neumann of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "After about one year taking data, we already have nearly 3 billion data points from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board the LRO spacecraft, with near-uniform ...
NASA's Aqua satellite captured a series of images from its Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument over the last two days and saw the low pressure area known as System 91S make landfall in Australia. System 91S may not have become a tropical depression, but it's dropping heavy rainfall in Western Australia.
NASA's AIRS infrared instrument showed System 91S's center making landfall on Dec. 16 at 0647 UTC (1:47 a.m. EST) near the town of Carnavon in Western Australia. At that time, there was a large area of strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation, ...
The controversy surrounding whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks along with its creator Julian Assange continues to gain momentum as liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans have joined together in one voice to condemn the most recent leaks that Senator Diane Feinstein has described as "a serious breach of national security and could be used to severely harm the United States and its worldwide interests."
If you're looking to score popularity points in Washington now is the time to jump on the anti-Assange bandwagon and condemn the Aussie for his complicity in weakening ...
The Louisiana plastic surgeons of The Wall Center for Plastic Surgery (www.wallcenter.com) note a surge in the number of patients who have turned to them for corrective surgery after undergoing laser liposuction from plastic surgeons and unqualified physicians alike. While liposuction has gained acceptance and popularity with a constant stream of technological advances since its inception in the late 1970s, not all treatments and providers will be able to deliver the results patients seek.
"Many doctors are expanding into services they were never trained to perform, ...
Park West Gallery, now in its 42nd year as a leading fine art dealer, recently curated a landmark retrospective featuring never-before-seen artwork by four world-renowned artists -- Yaacov Agam, Robert Kipniss, Csaba Markus and Igor Medvedev. The retrospective was unveiled before one hundred Park West Gallery VIP collectors aboard the Norwegian EPIC cruise ship, during its December 4-11, 2010 sailing. Original paintings, one-of-a-kind drawings and limited-edition graphic works were released from the archives and offered for sale.
Hosted aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's ...
Chief Outsiders, a Houston-based company that provides executive-level Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) to businesses on a fractional basis, has expanded from Florida to New York to meet market demand of growth and mid-sized companies. Joseph P. Grace, Robert J. Donaldson and Robert G. Derr, senior marketing executives and business growth leaders in the areas of health information and products, technology, analytical instrumentation, software and financial services, have joined the Chief Outsiders team.
"As Chief Outsiders CMOs, these senior marketing executives will ...
Carrentals.co.uk, the UK's leading price comparison website is advising all winter holiday makers ensure that winter tyres and snow chains are included in their car hire deal when booking in advance to ensure the best prices and utmost safety.
Winter tyres and snow chains are usually charged in addition to vehicle rental by most of the car hire companies and problems often occur because many car hirers at ski destinations assume that they will be included in the deal. This means that car rental companies can face a lack of availability and skiers may find that last ...
The Childhood Health Care Best Practice and Quality Assurance Conference has been scheduled to take place from the 25th to 28th January. The amount of prospective conference speakers and participants may result in a high demand of hotel in Sharm El Sheikh.
Speakers at the conference will update their peers with any new developments in treating common children's ailments such as measles, chickenpox, the flu, fevers and constipation. Diet experts will give advice relating to food intake that will try and cut down on the wave of teenagers with obesity, as well as regimes ...
AdoreStudio is a fast-growing game developer with highly placed objectives. The company has just published their website www.AdoreGames.com, however, a new design and a wider range of freshly-developed games which will possibly be free are going to bring a bunch of useful options for the game lovers.
AdoreStudio has entered the market with the main principle that whatever game is being played, it must be enjoyable for the user. Thus the company has sorted out the games which possess the following characteristics: user-friendly interface and high quality. These characteristics ...
