Opportunities in pain therapy:beyond the opioids and NSAIDs

Abstract

Pain remains a major factor in patients seeking physician assistance. Neither the NSAIDs (non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs) nor the opioids represent a complete answer to pain control, either alone or in combination. Recent research advances using molecular biological techniques have established that pain is a complex process involving multiple neurotransmitter/neuromodulator targets in the spinal cord, in ascending and descending spinal pathways and in the central nervous system as well as receptors and enzymes that are induced as part of the pain process. These advances, coupled with the considerable unmet medical need in the area of analgesics, are anticipated to lead to novel, non-opioid, non-NSAID approaches to pain relief and control.