'Chimera' protein could lead to drug treatments for chronic pain - ScienceDaily

Scientists have manufactured a new bio-therapeutic molecule that could be used to treat neurological disorders such as chronic pain and epilepsy.A team of 22 scientists from 11 research institutes, including Dr Enrico Ferrari from the University of Lincoln, UK, created and characterised a new molecule that was able to alleviate hypersensitivity to inflammatory pain.The work is featured on the cover of the October 2013 issue of the scientific journal Bioconjugate Chemistry.Dr Ferrari joined the School of Life Sciences in October last year from the Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, where he took part in the development of a new way of joining and rebuilding molecules in the research group of Professor Bazbek Davletov -- now at the University of Sheffield.Now, by separating elements of clostridium botulinum andclostridium tetani neurotoxins, commonly known as Botox and tetanus toxin respectively, the scientists were able to develop a model to re-join the molecule proteins yielding new biomedical properties, without unwanted toxic effects.While the Botox element is able to block neuronal communication -- and therefore pain signals -- for months, the tetanus component targets the engineered toxin to the central nervous system, rather than stopping at exterior neurons that are the normal target of Botox. The combination of the two effects is of great interest for neuroscience and can be applied to the treatment of several n...
Source: Psychology of Pain - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs