HealthFirst-Joint pain relief from hot food

UNDATED -- (03/03/08)-- Hot sauce can put a fire in your belly and leave your eyes crying for more, but it could relieve pain elsewhere in your body.

HealthFirst reporter Leslie LoBue says doctors are now testing to see if the hot stuff that numbs your tongue can numb knee pain.

Hot sauce is used to spice up your food. Now, capsaicin, the active principle that gives chili peppers their punch,  is knocking out knee pain.

At age 71, Ron Johnson says his knee is in better shape than it was in his fifties.  "It was constant pain in both knees."

That pain limited his work as a funeral director.  "One of the things that bothered me the most was limping down the aisle of a church funeral trying to push the casket."  

The spicy new treatment is part of a study that uses adlea, an ultra-purified form of capsaicin. Doctor Charles A. Birbara injects it into a patient's knee to relieve pain.
"It allows the entry of calcium, which de-sensitizes the nerve for a prolonged period of time," he explained.

Doctors say capsaicin binds to specific receptors on nerves responsible for pain. When the cells open, extra calcium enters. The nerves become overwhelmed and shut down, thus numbing the pain from several weeks to months.  "What we are looking at here is a very targeted therapy," Birbara said.

Doctors say because capsaicin pinpoints the pain, patients are reporting few major side effects except the initial burning sensation when first injected. "If you can take it in your stomach you certainly can put it in a knee joint," Johnson said.

Doctors are also studying adlea for surgical pain. Initial reports suggest pain is improved and patients may need less pain medication afterwards.

Adlea is not FDA approved and doctors are still testing to see just how long the pain is relieved.

BACKGROUND: Capsaicin is the active component found in chili peppers and is being studied for its pain relieving properties. Capsaicin is generally viewed as an irritant for most mammals, causing a burning sensation on the tissue it comes in contact with. The idea behind using capsaicin for pain relief is when applied to an area of the body, the nerves are overwhelmed by a burning sensation and are unable to report pain for an extended amount of time.

Nerve cells that sense a type of long-term throbbing pain have a receptor called TRPV1. Capsaicin binds to that receptor and opens it to enter only those pain fibers -- and not other nerves responsible for other kinds of pain or other functions like movement. These so-called C neurons also sense heat; thus capsaicin's burn. But when TRPV1 opens, it lets extra calcium inside the cells until the nerves become overloaded and shut down. That's how the numbness is achieved.

The form of capsaicin used for surgical pain relief is an ultra purified form called Adlea. This purified version is used to avoid infection and is administered while the patient is under anesthesia so he or she cannot feel the initial burn.

OTHER BENEFITS: Capsaicin is currently used in ointments to treat things like peripheral neuropathy and shingles. It's used in concentrations ranging from .025 percent to .075 percent. The American Association for Cancer Research reports studies showing that capsaicin is able to kill prostate cancer cells by causing them to undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death.) Many experts believe -- and there has been data to suggest -- places like Thailand and Mexico have very low instances of gastrointestinal cancers like colorectal and stomach cancer because of the high consumption of spicy foods.

NATURAL PAIN RELIEF: Another pain reliever derived from food is vitamin C. A Boston University study of 149 people with knee osteoarthritis found that getting less than 150 milligrams of vitamin C per day tripled the rate of cartilage breakdown. Omega 3's have also been known to alleviate pain. Several clinical trials found that eating 3 grams of fish fats a day relieved joint pain, swelling and morning stiffness associated with rheumatoid arthritis and also helped reduce the need for drugs. Fish oil seems to cut the inflammation that causes RA symptoms. A study out of Michigan State University also showed the chemicals in tart cherries that give them their deep red color relieve pain better than aspirin and hold antioxidant power similar to commercial available supplements like vitamin E.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Anesiva
http://www.anesiva.com
(650) 624-9600
Gilbert Wong, MD
Director of Clinical Research
cbwang@wcpglobal.com
 

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