The identification of compounds that can restore normal chloride levels in cells shows promise to treat several neurological and psychiatric disorders, including epilepsy, motor spasticity, stress, anxiety, schizophrenia, morphine-induced hyperalgesia and chronic pain. New results published by the De Koninck laboratory in Nature Medicine shows one such compounds was able to alleviate hypersensitivity in a rat chronic pain model. These results suggest drugs targeting chloride extrusion could lead to the development of novel treatments for chronic pain and many more neurological disorders.
Read the article in Nature Medicine:
Gagnon M, Bergeron MJ, Lavertu G, Castonguay A, Tripathy S, Bonin RP, Perez-Sanchez J, Boudreau D, Wang B, Dumas L, Valade I, Bachand K, Jacob-Wagner M, Tardif C, Kianicka I, Isenring P, Attardo G, Coull JA, De Koninck Y. Chloride extrusion enhancers as novel therapeutics for neurological diseases. Nat Med. 2013 Nov;19(11):1524-8. doi: 10.1038/nm.3356. Epub 2013 Oct 6.
Read an article about this discovery in Le Fil de l'Université Laval: Pompe à douleur:L'équipe d'Yves De Koninck démontre que la douleur chronique dépend d'un dérèglement cellulaire qui peut être corrigé
More media coverage:
- Chloride Transporter Emerges as Druggable Target for Pain - Pain Research Forum
http://www.painresearchforum.org/news/32787-chloride-transporter-emerges... - http://www.psychomedia.qc.ca/douleur-chronique/2013-10-10/mecanisme-cell...
- Nov 2013 PRF Editor's pick
http://www.painresearchforum.org/papers/32423-chloride-extrusion-enhance... - KCC2 escape from neuropathic pain - Nature Science Business exchange
by Benjamin Boettner, Assistant Editor
http://www.nature.com/scibx/journal/v6/n42/full/scibx.2013.1179.html