New Perspective in Pain Treatment

Pain is a disabling condition with a remarkable clinical relevance. Nevertheless the neuronal basis of its transmission and modulation are not completely known. So, the neurochemical characterisation of the nociceptive pathway plays a pivotal role to develop new analgesic strategies. Several factors and chemicals are involved in the activation of the nociceptive pathway both in peripheral (PNS) and central (CNS) nervous system. Recently, a number of researches focus on the role of cannabinergic, purinergic, glutamatergic and nitroxidergic systems in pain transmission showing that new drugs interfering with these systems could be useful for pain treatment. In addition, other molecules, such antioxidants and aquaporins, which are not classified as chemical/neurochemical mediators, can be altered during pain processing and interfere with nociceptive trasmission. Moreover, there is an increased evidence that activated glia and nerve growth factor (NGF) could be involved in the induction and maintenance of pain. Finally, stem cell transplantation shows potential therapeutic effects in neuropathic pain conditions. In this paper the recent results about new molecules acting on cannabinergic, purinergic, glutamatergic and nitroxidergic systems, NGF and stem cell transplantation involvement in pain treatment, will be discussed.