A Drug Used For Hypertension Can Reduce Chronic Pain in Spinal Cord Injury Victims

After a nerve cell injury a certain toxin called acrolein is produced in the human body that aggravates the severity of the injury. In a new research, Riyi Shi a researcher from Purdue has found that a drug used in treating hypertension called hydralazine can lower the levels of this neurotoxin thereby reducing chronic pain in patients suffering from paralysis. Studies show that not only does the quantity of acrolein increase drastically after a spinal cord injury; it also activates the pain receptors. Therefore even something as pleasant as a touch or caress can cause the patient excruciating pain. Sometimes the pain can also be felt without stimulation. Chronic neuropathic pain can negatively impact a patient’s quality of life leading to depression and often suicide. Therefore the positive results of the research conducted on lab rats have encouraged the researchers to believe that soon hydralazine should be able to be used to help deal with chronic pain in individuals with spinal cord injury.