Advancements in Pain Research

After the publication of the First Edition of this book in the series of Methods in Molecular Medicine (volume 99 in the series) in 2004, pain research continues its rapid acceleration until 2009, during which it experienced a plateau of growth that likely resulted from the economic downturn started in 2008 (Fig. 1.1). This rapid growth in pain research could be the driving force for an impressive 66% increase in new randomized, double-blind, placebo-control trials for neuropathic pain medications in the past 5 years compared with the last four decades. Unfortunately, little improvement in pain medications has been obtained [1] due to primarily our limited understanding of mechanisms mediating different pain states, especially that for chronic pain. It is highly possible that the growth in pain research will continue for decades to come due to three main reasons. First, there is an urgent need for more efficacious and safer pain medications that are necessary for better and individualized pain management. The increase in life expectancy of the general population and patients due to improvements in quality of health care and medicine is likely to increase the demand for better pain medications for improving the quality of daily life of those living with pain. It is estimated that the continuous increase in percentage of patients suffering from chronic pain (pain conditions lasting more than 6 months) arranges from 11 to 47% between 40 and 75 years of age [2], which will inevitably and continually increase the demand for better pain medications. Second, the cost of pain conditions to our society is high, estimated $55 billion per year in loss of productivity from full-time workers alone [3], so better pain management can significantly help economic growth and stability. Third, the swift advancement in technologies and our better understanding of sensory circuitries and pain pathways serves as a driving force for timely drug discovery research and development at an unprecedented pace to meet the demand for better pain medications.