Two Japanese Universities Confirm Depression Drug Paxil Treats Neuropathic Pain
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
According to research conducted by psychosomatic medicine professor Kazunori Mine of Fukuoka University, and neuropharmacology professor Kazuhide Inoue of Kyushu University, the depression drug Paxil (paroxetine) was found to treat neuropathic pain, a continuous sharp pain even after direct pain-causing factors have been treated. In 2003, Inoue discovered protein P2×4, which relates to signaling and is found in spinal marrow microglial cells and causes the disease. Paroxetine is believed to constrain the mechanism of action of P2×4. Rats with neuropathic pain symptoms were observed to have drastically reduced pain following administration of Paxil. (Click for more-Japanese language