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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : May 9, 2015 6:00 PM IST
Painkillers: If you have a habit of popping pills every time you have a minor pain, fever or cold, then you are doing more harm than good to your body. Long-term use or high dose of certain painkillers can harm the kidney tissues, reduce the flow of blood to the kidneys, thereby, leading to kidney damage or kidney failure.
US researchers have discovered a new compound that offers longer-lasting painkilling effects, and shows promise as an alternative to current anaesthetics.
The new compound, boronicaine, could be beneficial especially in treating sports injuries or in joint replacement procedures, the findings showed.
A team of US researchers have discovered a new compound (boronicane) that offers long-lasting painkilling effects. The compound may help provide an alternative to current anaesthetics, and could be useful in treating sports injuries or in joint replacement procedures. Read the 6 reasons why you should stop taking too many painkillers.
Because of its versatility and effectiveness at quickly numbing pain in targeted areas, lidocaine has been the gold standard in local anaesthetics for more than 50 years, said lead author of the study George Kracke, associate professor at University of Missouri.
While lidocaine is effective as a short-term painkiller, its effects wear off quickly. We developed a new compound that can quickly provide longer lasting relief, Kracke said.
The new compound was found to provide pain relief five times longer than lidocaine.
Lidocaine is used as an injectable pain reliever in minor surgical or dental procedures, or as a topical ointment or spray to relieve itching, burning and pain from shingles, sunburns, jellyfish stings and insect bites.
Although some conditions may warrant the use of a short-lasting painkiller, in many cases a longer lasting anaesthetic is a better option, Kracke said. Read the side-effects and precautions you should take while popping painkillers.
Having a longer lasting anaesthetic reduces the dosage or number of doses needed, limiting the potential for adverse side effects, Kracke added.
The findings were detailed in the journal ChemMedChem.
With inputs from IANS
Image source: Getty Images
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