To alleviate the constant pain will help hunger
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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In recent studies, scientists representing the University of Pennsylvania, found: the feeling of hunger contributes to the suppression of chronic pain. By the way, such a mechanism does not apply to acute pain.
Neuroscientists have isolated three hundred brain cells responsible for the fact that the brain focuses on the lack of food, rather than constant pain. Experts thought: if you carefully examine these cellular structures, then this can give impetus to the development of new ways to alleviate chronic pain.
New experiments have allowed scientists to understand the effect of hunger on various disease states. Observations were made of laboratory rodents who were hungry for 24 hours. As a result, experts noted that the response of mice to acute pain during hunger did not decrease, which can not be said about chronic pain - it was reacted to much less by rodents.
Researchers point out that the well-being of mice was comparable to that they were given an analgesic drug.
"We could not even think that feeling of hunger would change the attitude of the animals to pain so much. But we personally managed to see the results - and, in our opinion, this phenomenon is not devoid of logic. So, even if the animal is injured, then he still needs to find the strength to actively search for food, because this affects his life, "explains the author of the experiment, Amber Alhadeff.
In the next work, scientists noticed that hungry rodents without problems visited places in which their pain was felt more sharply. At the same time, their well-fed relatives tried to avoid such places.
Further, the specialists began to explore the part of the brain in which the regulation of the pain-hunger balance took place. In order to find out the mechanism of this process, scientists activated a certain neural group, which was routinely triggered by the sensation of hunger. It was found that after this chronic pain weakened, and the acute pain remained unchanged.
In subsequent studies, the localization of the neurotransmitter responsible for selectively blocking the response to persistent pain was scientifically determined. If you block the receptors of this neurotransmitter, then the feeling of hunger stopped, and the pain intensified again.
Specialists note: in case the results of the study can be applied to the human body, it will be possible to develop a new type of treatment for chronic pain.
"We did not set ourselves the task of completely eliminating pain, because this can lead to dangerous consequences for a person. Our goal is to alleviate the condition of patients suffering from chronic pain, "Alhadeff concludes.
In detail, all the results of research can be seen on the pages of the scientific publication Cell, as well as on the site http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(18)30234-4