Anesthesia by chili pepper
- From: "OldGoat" <oldgoatmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:52:45 GMT
Hey Folks,
I think I'd stick with the chemicals, thanks anyway.
Just know it's out there--og
*****************************************************
Anesthesia method offers no pain, big gain
A new approach to anesthesia using the chemical that gives chili peppers
their kick promises an improved way to treat pain in surgery, dentistry and
childbirth, researchers said on Wednesday.
Current local anesthetics deaden all nerve cells and not just the
pain-sensing ones, causing temporary paralysis and numbness. That's why
dental patients after a root canal, for example, may leave their dentist's
office drooling, with a numb mouth and some muscles temporarily paralyzed.
Now, researchers have found a way to target only the pain-sensing nerve
cells while avoiding the neurons responsible for muscle movement or
sensations such as touch.
They demonstrated the approach in rats and feel confident it will also work
in people.
They gave the rats injections containing capsaicin, the active ingredient in
hot peppers, and a derivative of the common local anesthetic lidocaine.
Working in concert, these chemicals targeted pain-sensing neurons, stopping
them from transmitting "ouch" signals to the brain.
The rats were placed on an uncomfortable heat source and had their paws
pricked, but showed no signs of feeling pain and moved and behaved normally.
The injections took effect within half an hour, and the pain relief lasted
for several hours.
The first general anesthetic, ether, was introduced in 1846, revolutionizing
surgery. But not much has changed conceptually in anesthesia in the past
century or so.
Dr. Clifford Woolf of Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the researchers
in the study published in the journal Nature, said the new approach could
transform surgery as much as ether did in its day.
"I imagine it could expand to many operations," Woolf said in a telephone
interview.
HUMAN TESTS SOON
The researchers think this approach could be useful in dental procedures
like tooth extractions, knee surgery and other joint operations, pain
treatment for women during childbirth and potentially for chronic pain.
A similar approach, they added, could stop itchiness from eczema, poison ivy
and other conditions.
"The pain sensing-neurons in rats and humans are close enough that the same
strategy should work, in principle, in humans," added Bruce Bean of Harvard
Medical School, another of the researchers.
Woolf expressed optimism that the first tests on people could begin "in two
or three years."
The two chemicals in the injections take advantage of a unique
characteristic of pain-sensing neurons to block their activity without
blocking signals from other nerve cells.
Lidocaine interferes with electric currents in all nerve cells. But the
lidocaine derivative used in this research, called QX-314, by itself is
unable to enter cell membranes to block their electrical activity.
That's where the hot chili chemical came into play.
Capsaicin is capable of opening pores found only on the cell membrane of
pain-sensing nerve cells. With these pores opened by capsaicin, the QX-314
can then enter the cell membrane and selectively block the activity of the
pain-sensing neurons while leaving alone other nerve cells.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071003/hl_nm/anesthesia_dc;_ylt=Avm5NaSjoUYGLX4OygTBiC3VJRIF
--
Be Sure to Check Out the PAYNE HERTZ blog, for people with chronic pain, by
people with chronic pain.
join in at: http://paynehertz.blogspot.com
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