Researchers at Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found that BRAF, a protein commonly associated with cancer, plays a key role in chronic pain following nerve injury — a finding with potential relevance for patients who develop lingering neuropathic pain after spine surgery, orthopedic trauma or other nerve damage.
In preclinical models, the researchers found that after nerve injury, BRAF moves from peripheral sensory nerve cells into the spinal cord, where it ramps up activity in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, proteins that help amplify pain signals traveling to the brain. Blocking BRAF with vemurafenib, an inhibitor already approved for cancer treatment, reduced sensitivity to touch, pressure and heat in the models without altering normal pain response, according to the Aug. 25 study published in Science Signaling.
The findings point to BRAF inhibitors as a potential option for treating neuropathic pain that arises after nerve damage from surgery, trauma or spinal cord injury — a category of pain that often responds poorly to the medications typically used in spine and orthopedic care.
The results are preclinical, and researchers said further work on dosing, delivery and side effects is needed before BRAF inhibitors could be tested in clinical trials for patients with chronic nerve pain.
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