探討 撲熱息痛 AM404 新型鎮痛劑 焦點議題
Acetaminophen may be doing more than just dulling pain in your brain it could be stopping it before it even starts. Scientists at Hebrew University have discovered that a metabolite of the drug, AM404, blocks pain signals right at their source by shutting down specific sodium channels in pain-sensing nerves. This radically shifts our understanding of how this common medication works and opens a door to new, more targeted painkillers that might eliminate side effects like numbness or weakness.
最近聽到有說法，像是撲熱息痛這類常見止痛藥，好像不只是讓你感覺不到疼痛而已。有人研究說，它代謝後會產生一種叫AM404的東西，大致上可能在最一開始就攔住了疼痛訊號——主要是在那些神經傳導裡頭的鈉通道。有些人就想，如果能針對性地影響這個過程，是不是未來或許有機會研發出比較沒那麼多副作用的新型鎮痛劑？當然，距離真正用於臨床還有好長一段路，不過也引起了一些討論，比方說：除了減少麻木或無力外，有沒有可能帶來其他我們沒預料到的變化？或者，這樣的方法是不是只對某部分病患有效呢？大家怎麼看？