"Silencing" brain cells to eliminate chronic pain

Scientists have come up with a new way to treat chronic pain, hoping to discover new treatments that can eliminate the suffering of many patients without weakening their ability to feel hurt.

Scientists have succeeded in "silencing" brain cells responsible for pain in mice.

Scientists have discovered that the exposure of these rodents to alarming temperature or vertigo activated a region of the brain called amygdala, which deals with emotions.

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When amygdala cells were blocked in rodent brains, animals continued to show signs of pain but without being interpreted by their brains.

Scientists said this had caused rodents to move away from the source of pain without showing any signs of distress such as licking wounds.

Stanford University conducted this study under the direction of Gregory Shearer, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Anesthesiology and Molecular and Molecular Molecular Biology.

Chronic pain is known to occur daily, or almost daily, for at least six months. The most common causes are headaches, abdominal cramps and inflammation of the muscles and joints.

To study how the brain interprets pain, researchers analyzed the genetically modified cells of the rat 's amygdala to make them radiant when they were active.

Scientists have discovered that these cells light up when mice are exposed to heat or acupuncture.

"It looks like she's not worried about the pain even though she can detect it," said Professor Shearer about the results.

Because the centers of pain in the brain are similar between species, the same mechanism is likely to occur in humans, leaving scientists hope that their discoveries will lead to "new treatment strategies" that reduce current discomfort.

Source: Daily Mail