Pain Programs: Topical Pain Management
Though there have been substantial breakthroughs in the development of orally bioavailable treatments for neuropathic pain, each of these therapies is fraught with substantial side effects. The patient may achieve pain relief but at the price of significant interference with normal cognitive function, for example. Much data indicate that in many neuropathic pain conditions the signal that triggers pain actually arises at the level of the skin. Thus a biological rationale exists for the application of drugs to the skin involved in the neuropathic pain condition. The skin has been used extensively as an alternative means to deliver medications systemically, but there has been relatively little effort aimed at development of drugs to deliver to the affected/painful skin.
The benefits of a topical approach to managing neuropathic pain include:
- Optimal drug concentrations at the site of origin of the pain
- Lower systemic drug levels and therefore, fewer systemic side-effects
- Fewer drug interactions
- Potential to address pain symptoms with a combination therapy approach
- Confirmal application to the skin enables uniform coverage of the painful area
"In many neuropathic pain conditions the signal that triggers pain actually arises at the level of the skin."