New pain relief method could reduce opioid dependence

A new technology that can help alleviate pain could replace our dependence on opioids, according to researchers.

Researchers at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology (CBNS) have developed a nanoparticle which could improve painkillers by delivering them directly to the source of pain.

The international collaboration is developing the technology in the hope of replacing pain relief methods such as opioids which are addictive and have serious side-effects. 

What the team has developed is a nanoparticle drug carrier that can bypass the nerve cell surface and effectively interrupt the pain signal from within the cell, enabling greater relief from pain, with lower drug doses and fewer side effects.

PhD candidate Paulina Ramírez-García who worked on the research said: "We know that when pain occurs, certain receptors move to the interior of spinal neurons to transmit pain signals. When we take painkillers, these drugs freely distribute throughout the body, to not only block pain but also act on other tissues to produce side-effects." 

“To overcome this, we harnessed nanotechnology to design nanoparticles that can selectively deliver drugs to these internal pain transmitting centres, concentrating the drug inside neurons where it is most effective at stopping the pain signal.” 

The team tested the technology with the antiemetic drug Aprepitan in preclinical experiments which had previously failed clinical pain trials. 

According to co-researcher Dr Veldhuis, this technology could be adapted to deliver other drugs, and has potential to address the growing global opioid epidemic.

”While opioids are still a highly effective treatment for debilitating pain, the risk of long-term dependence and other unwanted side effects can be damaging for individuals and families,” Dr Veldhuis said. “If we can use existing drugs in a more targeted away, there is significant potential to provide chronic pain sufferers with a non-opioid treatment option for pain relief.”