Novel approaches for an effective and safe treatment of Pain

Chronic pain, which is a multidimensional pathologic condition that have adverse effects on function and social and psychological well-being, has a high prevalence (~20%) worldwide. Pain treatment is based on the WHO ladder, in which drugs are classified into three steps depending on the intensity of pain. However, the pharmacological arsenal is not too extensive, and the most used drugs (NSAIDs, opioids) may cause a number of adverse effects upon repetitive use. The best example are opioids. Opioids are the most potent drugs used in pain relief. However, chronic opioid administration may lead to tolerance to the analgesic effects and severe adverse effects (e.g. dependence, constipation, respiratory depression), limiting its use. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for developing novel approaches to reduce/minimize uwanted effects when chronically using analgesic drugs. Precisely, the aim of our research is developing novel approaches, based on the combination of different drugs and/or the use of alternative therapies (e.g. photopharmacology, music), to reach an effective and safe treatment of pain.

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