Still use ice to relieve pain?Science: Try this method

Text ｜ Xu Rui

This plant is composed of a flexible strip with a small channel, which can flow from the middle. Picture source: Northwestern University of the United States

Applying ice on the injury can relieve pain. At present, a strip -shaped plant can also achieve the same effect.

The research report published in Science on June 30 stated that the implant was made of biodegradable materials to reduce postoperative pain. It "cools down" the nerve fibers in the body to reduce pain. The implant will be absorbed by the body with the reduction of postoperative pain.

Test research on the prototype of the implant in rats found that the implant can cool the nerve fiber to 10 degrees Celsius, thereby reducing the pain signals sent to the brain.

People urgently need a better way to slow down pain, because the opioid drugs currently used may make people addicted. Although ice pack or cooling patch can temporarily relieve pain, long -term use can make people feel uncomfortable and may damage the skin of the skin. Essence

As a result, John Rogers from Northwestern University hopes to "apply medicine" directly for pain nerves.

The implants developed by the Rogers team are thin and flexible, which contains small channels for chemicals. One end can be wrapped around the nerve fiber like the cuffs, and the other end is exposed from the skin and connected to a small pump.

Nitrogen and harmless liquid all -fluoropane (PFP) pump through small channels. The above chemicals will be mixed in the remote end of the implant band, causing PFP to evaporate to produce cooling effects. Subsequently, PFP gas and nitrogen returned to the pump through the third channel, and were separated to make the PFP back to the liquid.

The implant also contains a temperature sensor that can monitor and control the cooling effect.

The research team tested the implant. They implanted them in the sciatic nerve around the legs injured in three claws. Three weeks later, when a sensitive measurement device presses the claws of each rats, it is necessary to use more than 7 times the force to retract the legs when the implant cooling device is opened.

"This is a good signs, indicating that our implants make our claw numb," Rogers said.

Six months later, the device had been absorbed by the rats and did not observe nerve damage.

Rogers said that the research team now needs to continue to test the implant in animals to understand how much nerves and cooling can be cooled without causing damage.

Francis McGlone at the University of John Moore, Liverpool, said that this plant may be most useful for patients with severe long -term pain, because it is difficult for opioids to deal with this situation without having tolerance.

McGlone pointed out that many painkillers that previously worked on mice were invalid in human beings, but cooling nerves would hinder the function of rats, which is recognized. "This is the basic biology. The basic principles are safe."

Related thesis information:

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abl8532

"China Science News" (2022-07-04 The second edition of the original title of "Nervous Cooling Pain")

Edit | Zhao Lu

Capture | Zhihai

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