New painkiller hope

Thursday October 2nd, 2014

Cancer research centred on blood vessels may lead to the development of a powerful new pain-killer, British researchers have revealed.

Drugs have been developed to tackle a protein called VEGF - vascular endothelial growth factor.

But cancer researchers in Nottingham, UK, have now discovered a form of VEGF that can prevent pain.

The research has shown that one form of VEGF triggers the growth of blood vessels and can cause pain. But another form stops the growth of blood vessels and controls pain.

Researchers Dr Lucy Donaldson and Dr David Bates are now set to publish their findings in the journal Neurobiology of Disease.

A university spokeswoman said: "The study has centred on understanding how these two types of VEGF work and why the body makes one form rather than the other.

"The academics have been able to switch from the pain stimulating form to the pain inhibiting VEGF in animal models in the laboratory and are now investigating compounds to replicate this in humans. It is thought these compounds could form the basis for new drugs to be tested in humans in clinical trials."

Regulation of alternative VEGF-A mRNA splicing is a therapeutic target for analgesia Neurobiology of Disease November 2014; doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.08.012

Tags: Cancer | Pain Relief | Pharmaceuticals | UK News

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