Turning up the Heat on Pain: TRPV1 Receptors in Pain and Inflammation (Progress in Inflammation Research)

Despite tremendous advances in the understanding of the sensory nervous system which have accompanied the recent explosive growth of the neurosciences, rema- ably few innovative medicines directed towards pain and inflammation are ava- able. Indeed, many patients are still prescribed analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications that were identified long ago as components of herbal remedies. Si- larly, potential new medicines in clinical evaluation based on capsaicin and the c- saicin receptor are both grounded firmly on folk traditions and yet rely upon the most contemporary techniques of drug discovery and delivery. The first formal report of the pain-relieving properties of capsaicin appeared in 1850 [1]. However, for centuries before this, capsaicin-containing extracts had been used as folk medicines in cultures with access to pepper plants, much in the same way as poppy or willow-bark extracts were. Despite widespread use, it was not until 1878 that the selective action of capsaicin on the sensory nervous system was r- ognized [2]. In Chapter 1 of this volume, Janos Szolcsányi reviews this early research, which culminated with the seminal studies of Nicholas Jansco and his c- leagues in Hungary in the 1940s. Since then, capsaicin and related vanilloid c- pounds have played a prominent role in analgesia and inflammation investigations because of their ability to selectively activate a subpopulation of sensory neurons and produce sensations of pain and localized erythema.