Expert opinion on therapeutic targets
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Expert Opin. Ther. Targets · Aug 2016
ReviewNav1.7 and other voltage-gated sodium channels as drug targets for pain relief.
Chronic pain is a massive clinical problem. We discuss the potential of subtype selective sodium channel blockers that may provide analgesia with limited side effects. ⋯ We believe there is a great future for sodium channel antagonists, particularly Nav1.7 antagonists in treating most pain syndromes. This review deals with recent attempts to develop specific sodium channel blockers, the mechanisms that underpin the Nav1.7 null pain-free phenotype and new routes to analgesia using, for example, gene therapy or combination therapy with subtype specific sodium channel blockers and opioids. The use of selective Nav1.7 antagonists together with either enkephalinase inhibitors or low dose opioids has the potential for side effect-free analgesia, as well as an important opioid sparing function that may be clinically very significant.