Molecular mechanism of neuropathic pain.

Abstract Pain is the most common clinical symptom for which people seek medical care. Although effective therapy for inflammatory pain is possible, current therapy for neuropathic pain is still inadequate. Even the strongest painkiller, morphine, is reported to be ineffective against neuropathic pain in the clinic. The lack of effective therapeutic agents for neuropathic pain is due to the fact that its underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. Recently, pain researchers have been trying to identify the cellular and molecular processes that lead to neuropathic pain. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of neuropathic pain would certainly provide a hope for the future development of effective therapies for this intractable painful disease.