Discovery reveals blocking inflammation may lead to chronic pain
Using anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids to relieve pain could increase the chances of developing chronic pain, according to researchers from 不良研究所 and colleagues in Italy. Their research puts into question conventional practices used to alleviate pain. Normal recovery from a painful injury involves inflammation and blocking that inflammation with drugs could lead to harder-to-treat pain.
鈥淔or many decades it鈥檚 been standard medical practice to treat pain with anti-inflammatory drugs. But we found that this short-term fix could lead to longer-term problems,鈥� says Jeffrey Mogil, a Professor in the Department of Psychology at 不良研究所 and E. P. Taylor Chair in Pain Studies.
The difference between people who get better and don鈥檛
In the study published in , the researchers examined the mechanisms of pain in both humans and mice. They found that neutrophils 鈥� a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infection 鈥� play a key role in resolving pain.
鈥淚n analyzing the genes of people suffering from lower back pain, we observed active changes in genes over time in people whose pain went away. Changes in the blood cells and their activity seemed to be the most important factor, especially in cells called neutrophils,鈥� says Luda Diatchenko a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Human Pain Genetics.
Inflammation plays a key role in resolving pain
鈥淣eutrophils dominate the early stages of inflammation and set the stage for repair of tissue damage. Inflammation occurs for a reason, and it looks like it鈥檚 dangerous to interfere with it,鈥� says Professor Mogil, who is also a member of the Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain along with Professor Diatchenko.
Experimentally blocking neutrophils in mice prolonged the pain up to ten times the normal duration. Treating the pain with anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids like dexamethasone and diclofenac also produced the same result, although they were effective against pain early on.
These findings are also supported by a separate analysis of 500,000 people in the United Kingdom that showed that those taking anti-inflammatory drugs to treat their pain were more likely to have pain two to ten years later, an effect not seen in people taking acetaminophen or anti-depressants.
Reconsidering standard medical treatment of acute pain
鈥淥ur findings suggest it may be time to reconsider the way we treat acute pain. Luckily pain can be killed in other ways that don鈥檛 involve interfering with inflammation,鈥� says Massimo Allegri, a Physician at the Policlinico of Monza Hospital in Italy and Ensemble Hospitalier de la Cote in Switzerland.
鈥淲e discovered that pain resolution is actually an active biological process,鈥� says Professor Diatchenko. These findings should be followed up by clinical trials directly comparing anti-inflammatory drugs to other pain killers that relieve aches and pains but don鈥檛 disrupt inflammation.鈥�
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About this study 鈥淎cute inflammatory response via neutrophil activation protects against the development of chronic pain鈥� by Marc Parisien et al. was published in . DOI: |
About 不良研究所
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, 不良研究所 is Canada鈥檚 top ranked medical doctoral university. 不良研究所 is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It is a world-renowned institution of higher learning with research activities spanning three campuses, 11 faculties, 13 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 39,000 students, including more than 10,400 graduate students. 不良研究所 attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,000 international students making up 30% of the student body. Over half of 不良研究所 students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 20% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
