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| Photo: Chris Stacey, University of Queensland |
The discovery of a drug that relieves pain without severe side effects could result from research into the toxin of a humble sea snail found on the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr Jenny Ekberg, a research fellow with the University of Queensland’s School of Biomedical Sciences, said chronic pain could be caused by an initial injury that affects the nerves, or by conditions like diabetes and arthritis.
"The problem with current drugs, such as morphine, is that they sometimes offer only
marginal relief and come coupled with lots of problems with tolerance and side effects," Dr Ekberg said.
"Our research shows that a natural product from a marine snail (conus marmareus) produces pain relief without apparent side effects in animal models of chronic pain."
Some sufferers of chronic pain have no obvious reason for their condition, she said.
"The patient experiences severe pain because the nerve cells that are responsible for pain transmission are over-active," Dr Ekberg explained.
"This is primarily due to abnormal activity in sodium channels in the nerve cells.
"Conventional drugs, such as local anaesthetics, block all types of sodium channels, causing severe side-effects.
"Our toxin blocks only a specific channel – the first time a toxin like this has been shown to work – therefore providing pain relief without severe side-effects."
Dr Ekberg’s research is being undertaken in collaboration with scientists from the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney.
She said results of work to date were "incredibly promising", adding that the team now needed to collect more of the toxin and synthesise it.
The development of a generally available drug could take two to 10 years, Dr Ekberg said.
Last reviewed 3 April 2007