A team of scientists from the University of Sheffield discovered that a single injection of elongated botox could relieve pain for months without the risk of paralysis or addiction
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A team of UK scientists and a US-based pharmaceutical company have created a modified Botox that can effectively treat chronic pain
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A single injection of elongated Botox could relieve pain for months without the risk of paralysis or addiction
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Chronic pain is extremely difficult to treat and available medications are limited by dangerous side effects
A modified form of Botox could provide long-term pain relief for patients with chronic nerve injury pain, according to a new study.
A team of scientists from the Universities of Sheffield, Reading and University College London (UCL) and the US-based biopharmaceutical company Neuresta have created a new, elongated botulism neurotoxin that can relieve chronic pain without the risk of paralysis or addiction.
Chronic pain is extremely difficult to treat, and available medications are limited by dangerous side effects. Opioids such as morphine and fentanyl are the gold standard for short-term pain relief, but they cannot effectively treat chronic pain because of the risk of addiction, abuse, and overdose.
The findings of the new study, published in the journal Life Science Alliance, show that a single injection of precisely designed botulism neurotoxin provides long-lasting relief in mouse models, with no adverse effects.
The team, led by Professor Bazbek Davletov, Chair of Biomedical Science and Research Associate Charlotte Leese from the University of Sheffield, developed a new way of reconstructing Botox using elements of Clostridium botulinum and created a biopharmaceutical with new properties, without unwanted toxic effects. .
By splitting Botox into two separate parts, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded team was able to produce them in an optimal elongated configuration and then reassemble them in a Lego-like fashion.
Professor Davletov, from the University of Sheffield’s School of Life Sciences, said: “Currently, painkillers can only relieve chronic pain temporarily and often have unwanted side effects.
“A single injection of the new non-paralytic inhibitor at the site of pain could potentially relieve pain for many months in humans and this now needs to be tested.
“We hope the developed drug could improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world who suffer from chronic pain.”
The promising results led to the transfer of the technology to US-based biopharmaceutical startup Neuresta. The Neuresta team is now working on tailored neuronal blockers for various neurological conditions using the new connection technique.”
Professor Davletov added: “This new biopharmaceutical development program could make it possible to produce a variety of Botox-like drugs in a safer and more cost-effective way.”
While current Botox® injections and similar Dysport® injections can effectively paralyze muscles, the elongated botulinum biopharmaceutical blocked pain-related nerves without causing muscle paralysis.
Botox holds great promise for clinical applications, but its paralytic action has so far been an obstacle to pain relief.
The team showed their newly engineered neurotoxin to be a non-paralyzing neuronal blocker in preclinical collaborative studies at the Universities of Sheffield, Reading and UCL.
The method could potentially enable a form of chronic pain relief that could last as long as a single Botox injection—about four to five months—potentially helping the 20 percent of the population believed to be living with chronic pain.
Dr Maria Maiaru, from the University of Reading, said: “People with chronic pain need new options for managing their symptoms. Safer and more effective drugs are needed.
“These new Botulinum molecules are effective in reducing pain-like behavior in human pain models. We believe this approach could pave the way for the development of pain therapy to improve the quality of life of millions of people living with chronic pain.”
To view the full document: Novel botulism neurotoxin constructs for the treatment of chronic pain
