Research yields new insights into mechanisms and treatment of pain.

摘要

Findings such as those from Bushnell's group underscore the importance of developing more effective drugs for chronic pain as well as drugs that have more favorable adverse effect profiles.Opioid-based pain therapeutics are the mainstay of pain treatment, but their use is limited by the potential for abuse and by debilitating adverse effects, including constipation, nausea, excessive sleepiness, and respiratory depression. Morphine, for example, often causes itch and headache. Julie Wiesler, PhD, of the University of Colorado at Boulder, and her group found that the drag activates mast cells in the meninges.