“Treatment of pain with anti-inflammatory drugs has been standard medical practice for decades. But we found that this short-term fix can lead to longer-term problems,” said Jeffrey Mogil, a professor in McGill’s Department of Psychology and the E.P. Taylor Chair in Pain Research. .
Difference Between People Who Get Better and People Who Don’t Get Better
In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers examined pain mechanisms in humans and mice. They found that neutrophils — a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infection — play a key role in pain relief.
“In analyzing the genes of people with lower back pain, we observed positive changes over time in the genes of people whose pain went away. Changes in blood cells and their activity appeared to be the most important factors, especially when the pain went away. in cells called neutrophils,” said Luda Diatchenko, a professor in McGill University’s Department of Medicine and School of Dentistry, who also holds the Canada Chair of Excellence in Human Pain Genetics.
Inflammation plays a key role in pain relief
“Neutrophils dominate the early stages of inflammation and provide the conditions for repair of tissue damage,” said Prof. Mogil. “Inflammation happens for a reason, and interfering with it looks dangerous.” He and Prof. Diatchenko Also a member of the Allen-Edwards Pain Research Center.
In experiments, the researchers blocked neutrophils in mice, prolonging pain ten times longer than normal. Treating pain with anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids such as dexamethasone and diclofenac produced the same results, although they were effective for pain early on.
The findings are also supported by a separate analysis of 500,000 people in the UK, which showed that those who took anti-inflammatory drugs for pain were more likely to experience pain two to ten years later, an effect that increased after taking paracetamol Not seen in people taking aminophenols or antidepressants.
Reconsidering Standard Medical Approach for Acute Pain
“Our findings suggest that it may be time to reconsider the way we treat acute pain. Fortunately, pain can be eliminated by other means that do not involve interfering inflammation,” said Policlinico, Monza Hospital, Italy, and Ensemble Hospitalier de la, Switzerland. Cote’s doctor Massimo Allegri said.
Professor Diatchenko said: “Our study found that pain relief is actually an active biological process. These findings should be followed up with clinical trials that directly compare anti-inflammatory drugs with other pain relievers that relieve pain without destroying inflammation.”
This research has been published inScience – Translational Medicine” magazine.
