Multiple Sclerosis (MS) presents a myriad of symptoms, with common manifestations including fatigue, balance disturbances, tremors, and neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, stemming from nerve damage in the spinal cord and brain, encompasses various sensations from minor jolts to intense burning pains, categorized into acute, paroxysmal, and chronic forms. Acute pain is parallel to short term pain, paroxysmal occurs in sudden attacks, and chronic pain lasts a long period of time. Nerve pain can present itself in different forms including allodynia (sensitive to touch), pins and needles, or burning sensations.
Treatment typically involves anticonvulsants, antidepressants, steroids, opioids, or capsaicin cream. Opioids are most often prescribed for chronic pain in MS patients, raising concerns regarding overuse and addiction. A study regarding opioid usage in MS found that 42% of patients have used opioids previously and 38% were currently using opioids. The prevalence of this drug has been causing concern for many MS patients, heightening the need for alternative treatments. At the University of Texas at Austin, scientists recently developed new findings on a ground-breaking non-opioid compound called FEM-1689. FEM-1689 was already known for its pain relieving qualities, but this study discovered that the compound does not interact with opioid receptors. This new advancement, tested on animal models, was found to reduce pain and researchers have high hopes this compound can become a treatment option for neuropathic pain- but without addictive properties. With the use of mouse models, researchers were able to discover FEM-1689 reduced pain caused by methylglyoxal- a product that adds to neuropathic pain in diabetes. FEM-1689 also showed efficacy in reducing neuropathic pain associated with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. The study also came to the conclusion that pain sensing nerve cells produce the TMEM97 protein, and mice without these proteins had no pain relieving effects. Therefore, researchers identified TMEM97 protein as a potential target for neuropathic pain treatments, offering specificity for future research endeavors.
In response to the opioid crisis, particularly prevalent among MS patients, NuvoNuro was founded: a company which addresses non-opioid pain therapeutics and received a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Theodore Price, professor at The University of Texas at Dallas said that this ”is a great example of academic drug discovery pushing the field of non-opioid pain therapeutics forward.” This new company advances non-opioid treatments for the substantial portion of patients afflicted by pain in MS and other diseases, targeting the more than 25% of Multiple Sclerosis patients who suffer from neuropathic pain.
References
Pain and MS - Causes & Treatment. (2022, August 18). MS Society. Retrieved March 3, 2024, from https://www.mssociety.org.uk/about-ms/signs-and-symptoms/pain
Upham, B., & Chua, J. P. (n.d.). Treating Chronic Pain in Multiple Sclerosis. Everyday Health. Retrieved March 3, 2024, from
https://www.everydayhealth.com/multiple-sclerosis/treatment/treating-chronic-pain-multip le-sclerosis/
Wexler, M. (2024, February 8). Non-opioid drug for nerve pain being developed by Texas scientists. Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Retrieved March 3, 2024, from https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/news-posts/2024/02/08/non-opioid-drug-nerve-p ain-developed-texas-scientists/
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