Washington, DC — Pain researchers from the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at
Children’s National Medical Center have discovered that resiniferatoxin, a drug that has shown early promise as an option for chronic, severe pain sufferers, may decrease the body’s ability to fight off bacterial infections, particularly sepsis.
The study, which appears in the May 1 edition of the journal Anesthesiology, sheds new light on the role of a pain receptor, transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1), and how medications designed to impact this receptor’s relay of the pain sensation to the brain might work in humans.
Scientists, led by Zenaide Quezado, MD, director of the Pain Neurobiology Laboratory of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National, studied in animal models the effects of two different medications, resiniferatoxin and capsazepine, that are known to impact TRPV1, an ion receptor channel that signals sharp, painful stimuli to the brain, and triggers a pain response. These drugs block the activation of the TRPV1 receptor in different ways. For example, resiniferatoxin binds to the TRPV1 receptor and as a result opens calcium channels and ultimately destroys the nerves that have the receptor. The team discovered that, in the case of resiniferatoxin, the chemical reaction also negatively impacts the body’s reaction to bacterial infections by altering cytokine and chemokine expression, signaling molecules which are key to the natural immune response to bacteria.
Resiniferatoxin shows great promise to ease chronic pain by targeting that pain in an entirely new way. If successful, it may allow patients who suffer from long-term diseases and who cannot benefit from traditional pain management medications, respite. As a result, the National Institutes of Health are undertaking a series of clinical trials in humans to determine its effectiveness.
“Our job as pain medicine researchers is to try and uncover as much about these medications and side effects as possible so that we can monitor and treat those side effects,” said Dr. Quezado, senior author of the study and a pediatric anesthesiologist. “This study alerts us to a possible side effect of resiniferatoxin that might impact when and how the drug is used. However, for many patients, the chance to finally ease long term pain caused by diseases such as cancer may outweigh a risk that the medication may impact their body’s ability to heal from bacterial infection.”
Related Links
- About the Pain Medicine Initiative of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation
- The clinical Division of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
- Previous research conducted by Zenaide Quezado, MD
- SurgeryInnovation.org, the blog of the Sheikh Zayed Institute
Contact: Jennifer Stinebiser ([email protected]) or Emily Dammeyer ([email protected]): 202-476-4500.
About Children’s National Medical Center
Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, has been serving the nation’s children since 1870. Home to Children’s Research Institute and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children’s National is consistently ranked among the top pediatric hospitals by U.S.News & World Report and the Leapfrog Group. With 303 beds, more than 1,330 nurses, 550 physicians, and seven regional outpatient centers, Children’s National is the only exclusive provider of acute pediatric care in the Washington metropolitan area. Children’s National has been recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet® designated hospital, the highest level of recognition for nursing excellence that a medical center can achieve. For more information, visit www.ChildrensNational.org, receive the latest news from the Children’s National press room, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.