Researchers Explain how Anesthetics Work [Video]

Researchers from Australia have found how pain relievers, such as local anesthetics, work. The study could pave way for newer types of drugs for chronic pain.

Local anesthetics were inspired by cocaine and have been used for several decades now to treat chronic pain. Researchers say that despite their popularity, nobody knows how these anesthetics work.

The study, conducted by Australian National University, researchers found how benzocaine and phenytoin enter nerve cells and prevent pain signal transmission. Benzocaine is a local anaesthetic while phenytoin is an anti-epilepsy drug. Understanding how these drugs work could lead to development of newer, more efficient drugs for chronic pain.

For the study, Dr Ben Corry and Lewis Martin developed a computer model that tracks the movement of the drugs in the body. Researchers used over three million CPU hours the National Computational Infrastructure's supercomputer to stimulate the movement of the drug into the nerve cell.

The study is published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.           

Pain transmission involves nerves that send signals to the brain. Proteins that act as tiny gateways in these nerve cells. These proteins open and allow sodium and potassium ions to pass through.

The latest study shows that the drug binds to the sodium gateway protein, preventing the pain signal from reaching the brain.

Currently, drugs that block sodium channels are used to treat epilepsy and even heart arrhythmia. A major problem with the modern drugs is that they inhibit the sodium channels throughout the body, which can lead to side effects.

Pharmaceutical companies want to make drugs that can selectively block few sodium channels.

"Knowledge of the fine molecular detail of the drug opens up possibilities to conceive new drugs," said Dr Corry in a news release. "Chronic pain is a big market, and an avenue I'd also like to pursue is developing antibiotics based on this approach."