A second, Vioxx, is expected to be approved this year. In hopes of blocking very specific types of pain, scientists at the National Institutes of Health are focusing their research on the points in the brain and spine where pain-related neurons come together. Specifically, they are looking at drugs to prevent chemical messages from locking in. So far, there has been limited success with drugs that block pain from oral surgery and diabetic neuropathy, among others. We're warm, but we haven't found the treasure we're looking for.
Doctors say pain is undertreated Medications make up only part of the arsenal against pain.
Spinal-cord stimulators, for instance, have proved effective against chronic back pain and neuropathic problems such as complex regional pain syndrome. If the arrangement works for several days, the electrode is attached surgically, and a pulse generator about the size of a pacemaker is either implanted in the buttocks or abdomen or worn externally so the patient can control the signal. Despite all this progress, many physicians believe that pain is undertreated. Nearly half of the respondents have switched physicians at least once, and more than half have been in pain for more than five years. With the availability of so many effective pain therapies, this is a great tragedy.