Optimizing New Therapeutic Targets for the Treatment of Chronic Pain
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 206
Special Issue Editors
Interests: synaptic dysfunction in neurological and psychiatric disorders related to addiction, pain and stress; regulation of brain circuitry and neuronal function by GPCRs, neuropeptides and intracellular signaling; drugs of abuse including opioids, cocaine and cannabinoids
Interests: mechanisms and pharmacology of acute and chronic models of pain; endogenous opioid systems; sensory neural systems; opioid tolerance; antinociceptive synergy between cannabinoids and opioids
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Pain remains a pervasive problem. The persistence of chronic pain strongly impacts people’s quality of life and represents a major therapeutic challenge. Reliance on opioid analgesics as a management strategy for pain carries both significant health risks and larger societal consequences. There remains a need to identify innovative targets for the development of effective and safe therapeutic strategies for the treatment of pain.
This special issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences addresses the latest work to advance our understanding about how pain may become chronic, as well as emerging non-addictive alternative therapies for the treatment of chronic pain. Areas of focus include pain relevant proteins/RNA with the potential to be modulated by drugs or small molecules, cellular and molecular strategies to optimize the properties of existing medications, and lastly, the development of new pain treatments based on innovative circuit integration of pain behaviors. We welcome both original research articles and review articles by experts in the field.
A better understanding of the fundamental biological processes underlying pain will aid in the development of new treatment platforms for this debilitating disease, as well as provide insight into the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying behavioral responses to pain.
Dr. Arthur C. Riegel
Dr. Todd Vanderah
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- chronic pain
- brain
- spinal cord
- ion channels
- cellular
- molecular
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