Worldwide, over one and a half billion people suffer from chronic pain related to various situations and pathologies. Opioid drugs are powerful means of controlling chronic pain but over time they develop ‘tolerance’, i.e. they suffer a progressive reduction in effectiveness with the risk of having to progressively increase the dose. A lipid substance, ultramicronized Pea, would be able to counteract the development of tolerance to opioids, such as morphine. It is produced by the body and is present in various foods of both animal and plant origin. It is being studied by the research group of Carla Gheraldini, of the Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Area and Child Health of the University of Florence and coordinator of the study group on pain of the Italian Society of Pharmacology (Sif).
“With my research group – explains Gheraldini – I have been dedicating myself for years to studying strategies to counteract the development of tolerance to opioids. We were among the first Italian groups to use a particular form of Pea, so-called ultramicronized, in our research.
We chose it because it is more bioavailable. We have found that the addition of Pea in ultramicronized form delays the development of tolerance to various opioids, such as morphine, oxycodone, and tramadol. Not only that, but it enhances the analgesic effect of opioids in conditions of neuropathic pain and counteracts, even when used as the only intervention, chronic pain associated with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. The amount of data on the effect of ultramicronized Pea in chronic pain was growing to such an extent that, a few months ago, my research group and I decided to dedicate ourselves to a review article that gave us the opportunity to review in an organic way research on ultramicronized Pea in chronic pain”. This molecule, adds the expert, “has proven capable of reaching the ‘pain centers’, spinal cord and brain, and has solid safety and tolerability data, so much so that it has successfully completed a Phase 1 study approved by the US drug agency.”
Over one and a half billion people in the world experience a chronic pain condition (which lasts more than 3 months) with serious repercussions on the quality of life and the socio-economic sphere. Increasingly recognized as a biopsycho-social disease, chronic pain not only involves the body, but also the psyche and social relationships. Headaches, abdominal or pelvic pain, back pain, cancer pain are among the main forms of chronic pain.
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