A new study published on the journal eLife has come up with the design of a “photo-drug” (JF-NP-26) with powerful therapeutic applications to treat pain, a molecule that can be specifically activated at any wished moment (that is, with a high spatiotemporal resolution) with light.
“In the clinical field, there is not any precedent of the uses of optopharmacology to improve pain treatment or any disease associated with the nervous system. This is the first light-activated drug designed for the treatment of pain in vivo with animal models”, says Professor Francisco Ciruela, leading author of the study.