The new drug pain is directed to nerve receptors, without ignoring the addiction pathway

The researchers at the University of Duke have developed a new promising analgesic that works through a completely different mechanism from opioids, which can offer millions of patients with chronic pain an alternative without the dangerous side effects of addiction and tolerance. The experimental medicine, called SBI-810, is directed to specific nerve receptors and spinal cord while avoiding the brain reward that make opioids so problematic.

The findings, Posted on May 19 in CellShow that SBI-810 effectively treats acute pain, such as surgery or injury, and chronic pain due to nerve damage in animal models. What makes this compound particularly exciting is its precision: instead of flooding the body with wide chemical signals as traditional analgesics, SBI-810 active only specific cell paths linked to pain relief.

As the United States continues to deal with an opioid crisis that claims more than 80,000 lives annually, while a third of Americans suffer from chronic pain, the need for safer and more effective alternatives has never been more urgent. Could this approach run finally break the addiction cycle and an ineffective treatment that has affected pain management for decades?

A smarter approach to pain relief

“What makes this compound exciting is that it is analgesic and not opioid,” said Senior Ru-Rong Ji study author, PHD, an anesthesiology and neurobiology researcher who directs the Duke Anesthesiology Center for Trans Translaging Pain Medicine.

Unlike opioids, which indiscriminately activate multiple cell paths throughout the body and brain, SBI-810 is aimed at a specific receiver called Neurotensin Receiver 1 (NTSR1). This receiver is found in sensory neurons and throughout the central nervous system, which makes it an ideal objective for pain management.

The medicine uses a sophisticated method called “biased agonism” to activate only a specific cell signal, β-arrestin-2) linked to pain relief, while avoiding other signals that can lead to side effects or addictions.

“The receiver is expressed in sensory neurons and in the brain and spinal cord,” Ji explained. “It is a promising objective to treat acute and chronic pain.”

Powerful results in multiple types of pain

In laboratory tests, SBI-810 demonstrated a notable versatility and effectiveness in the treatment of different types of pain:

• Relowing pain of surgical incisions, bone fractures and nerve injuries
• Reduced signals of spontaneous discomfort, including protective behaviors and facial faces
• Gabapentina overcome, a common medication for nervous pain
• It showed better results than oliceridine, a new hospital degree opioid, in some pain models
• Maintained effectiveness with repeated use, avoiding the problem of tolerance that affects opioid treatment

Perhaps the most significant, the compound did not cause memory or sedation problems, which are common side effects of gabapentin and similar medications prescription for chronic pain.

How it works: Point to pain at your source

SBI-810 works through multiple mechanisms both in the peripheral nervous system (nerves throughout the body) and in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). In the spinal cord, the drug reduces the transmission of pain signs between neurons, effectively cushioning the pain message before reaching the brain.

In sensory neurons, SBI-810 suppresses the electrical shot that indicates pain and reduces the expression of NAV1.7, a key protein involved in the transmission of pain signals. This dual action allows drug to block pain in multiple points of the nervous system.

Crucially, when analyzed together with opioids, SBI-810 made them more effective at lower doses, which potentially allows a small use of opioid while maintaining pain control. He also avoided common opioid side effects such as constipation and reduction of abstinence symptoms, which contribute to addiction.

Of laboratory to patients

Although they are still in early development, Duke researchers aim to begin human essays soon. The University has assured multiple patents for discovery, indicating confidence in its potential as a marketable treatment.

The Imagine SBI-810 research team as a treatment option for several pain scenarios, from post-surgical recovery to chronic conditions such as diabetic nerve pain and low back pain.

Study findings are aligned with broader efforts to address the dual pain management crises in the United States and opioid addiction. While drug overdose deaths have begun to decrease, the massive number of Americans who suffer from chronic pain, and limited effective treatments available, remember a pressing challenge of public health.

If human trials confirm the promising results observed in animal studies, SBI-810 could represent a significant advance in pain medicine: a powerful enough treatment to relieve serious pain but precise enough to avoid the devastating side effects that have made opioids so problematic.

For the millions of Americans trapped between unrelated pain and the risks of current medicines, this new approach offers an idea of ​​how pain management could be in the future: effective relief without high, addiction or decreasing yields that have defined the treatment of pain for generations.