This new therapy turns off pain without opioids or addiction
Why it matters: This therapy could revolutionize chronic pain treatment, offering lasting relief without the devastating cycle of opioid addiction.
- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine announced a next-gen gene therapy that silences chronic pain at its source in the brain, avoiding opioid addiction.
- Scientists used AI to map pain processing, creating a targeted "off switch" that delivers lasting relief without affecting normal sensations.
- The preclinical study, published in Nature, identified a gene therapy that directly targets pain-processing areas in the brain, offering hope to over 50 million Americans with chronic pain.
- Gregory Corder, PhD, co-senior author from Penn, emphasized the goal of reducing pain while eliminating addiction risk and dangerous side effects by precisely targeting brain circuits.
A groundbreaking gene therapy, developed by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon, and Stanford, offers a potential non-addictive solution for chronic pain by precisely targeting brain circuits. This therapy, guided by AI, acts as a "volume control" for pain, mimicking morphine's benefits without its dangerous side effects or addiction risk.
