title: Voltage-gated sodium channel blockers for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
abstract: Pain serves a crucial physiological function, warning the body of impending or actual tissue damage, preventing further damage and aiding the healing process. Neuropathic pain, resulting from nervous system injury or dysfunction, can be a serious medical problem and especially difficult to treat. Although sodium channel blockers are clinically useful for treating pain, they often provide only partial relief and adverse effects associated with nonspecific actions can limit their use. Research on the roles of sodium channels in neuronal excitability and pain shows that specific sodium channel isoforms are crucial determinants of nociception and neuropathic pain, indicating that it should be possible to develop sodium channel blockers with lower toxicity and enhanced efficacy for treating neuropathic pain.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University, School of Medicine, 950 W Walnut St, R2-Room 468, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. trcummin@iupui.edu
authors.forename: Theodore R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Cummins
authors.forename: Anthony M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rush
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D015222:Sodium Channels