Expert opinion on investigational drugs
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Jan 2010
ReviewTargeting voltage-gated sodium channels for pain therapy.
Drugs inhibiting voltage-gated sodium channels have long been used as analgesics, beginning with the use of local anaesthetics for sensory blockade and then with the discovery that Nav-blocking anticonvulsants also have benefit for pain therapy. These drugs were discovered without knowledge of their molecular target, using traditional pharmacological methods, and their clinical utility is limited by relatively narrow therapeutic windows. ⋯ Together with recent advances in the technologies required to prosecute ion channels as drug targets, this has led to significant progress being made. This article reviews these developments and summarises current findings with these emerging new Nav inhibitors, highlighting some of the unanswered questions and the challenges that remain before they can be developed for clinical use.