Painkillers based on the TRPV1 receptor could be in trouble after tests in rats showed that blocking the receptor could interfere with brain functions, such as memory and learning.
A team led by Julie Kauer, at Brown University in the US, discovered, using slices of rat brain, that TRPV1 receptors trigger a long-term depression (LTD) of nerve signalling in the hippocampus region of the brain (Neuron 2008, 57, 746). This depression is essential to establishing memory and learning pathways.
A number of pharmaceutical companies are investigating new compounds that block TRPV1 because it is thought that blocking TRPV1 could help treat inflammatory and neuropathic pain. …
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