Biotech Updates

Sunburn Study Could Lead to New Pain Relief

July 15, 2011

Researchers at King's College London (KCL) have discovered a molecule in human body called CXCL5 that controls sensitivity to pain from UVB irradiation. This molecule is a new target for medicines to treat pain caused by other common inflammatory conditions like arthritis and cystitis.

Professor Stephen McMahon and Dr. David Bennett at KCL discovered the molecule after analyzing several overexpressed pain mediators involved in sunburn. Further testing on rats showed that a neutralizing antibody targeting CXCL5 significantly decreased the sensitivity to pain caused by the UVB irradiation.

"I'm excited about where these findings could take us in terms of eventually developing a new type of analgesic for people who suffer from chronic pain," said Prof. McMahon. "We intend to extend this approach to other types of pain and in particular to study patients suffering from chronic pain with the hope that this will speed up the process of turning science into effective treatments for patients," explained Dr. Bennett.

Read more about the study at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrecords/2011/07July/Discovery-why-sunburn-hurts-could-lead-new-pain-relief-drugs-inflammatory-conditions.aspx.