Fasting can help fight chronic pain

According to the results of a study [VIDEO] conducted by the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" observe fasting or anyway a diet with restriction severe caloric could prove very useful for counteracting chronic pain caused by neuralgia . The researchers conducted the study on genetically modified mice. In reality it is not a real fast, but rather an intermittent caloric restriction. The sharp decrease in calorie intake, again according to the results of this research, would also seem to improve the functioning of drugs that would be more effective in eliminating or significantly reducing pain.

and reduction of chronic pain

Fasting would have an effect against chronic pain through the receptor Hcar2 which in transgenic mice has proven useful in reducing the pain threshold of neuralgia. In this sense, Dr. Livio Luongo, one of the authors of the research, explained that Hcar2 receptor is stimulated by beta-hydroxybutyrate, an organic substance that belongs to the group of ketones that our body tends to produce larger amounts just in case of fasting or if you follow a low sugar diet. In the mouse, two days are enough to obtain results which, in humans, correspond to four or five days. Obviously, it must be taken into account that the results of this research were obtained on the animal model, therefore clinical studies will be necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of fasting also on humans.

The study was published in the journal Faseb.

Neuropathic Pain

There is no single neuropathic pain . However, there are types that are more present in almost all people. We refer to back pain, sciatica, cervical pain produced by hernia, or to patients who need to amputate one or more limbs. Other causes of neuropathic pain may result from strokes, multiple sclerosis, HIV infection, trigeminal neuralgia, post-herpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, and neuropathy. in cancer patients or chemotherapeutics. This type of pain can be central or peripheral depending on whether it affects the central or peripheral nervous system. It usually occurs as a result of damage or disease of the nervous system. Neuropathic pain responds poorly to traditional badgesic therapies, while antiepileptics and antidepressants and non-pharmacologic treatments [VIDEO] such as physiotherapy, acupuncture, and transcutaneous or percutaneous electrical stimulation are helpful