New Painkiller Has Longer Lasting Effects to Help Patients During Surgery

There may be good news for patients during surgery. Scientists have discovered a new compound that offers longer lasting painkilling effects, and shows promise as an alternative to current anesthetics.

"Because of its versatility and effectiveness at quickly numbing pain in targeted areas, lidocaine has been the gold standard in local anesthetics for more than 50 years," said George Kracke, one of the researchers, in a news release. "While lidocaine is effective as a short-term painkiller, its effects wear off quickly. We developed a new compound that can quickly provide longer lasting relief. This type of painkiller could be beneficial in treating sports injuries or in joint replacement procedures."

Painkillers work by interfering with the nervous system's transmission of nerve signals that the body perceives as pain. Lidocaine is actually used as an injectable pain reliever in minor surgical or dental procedures, or as a topical ointment or spray to relieve itching, burning and pain from shingles, sunburns and other painful skin irritations.

In this latest study, the researchers synthesized boronicaine as a derivative of lidocaine. By changing aspects of the chemical structure of lidocaine, the researchers found that the new compound provided pain relief that lasted five times longer than lidocaine. In fact, boronicaine provided about 25 minutes or relief, compared to about five minutes of pain relief with lidocaine.

"Boronicaine could have distinct advantages over existing painkilling medications," said M. Frederick Hawthrone, one of the researchers, in a news release. "We're conducting more research into the side effects of the compound, but in time it could very well become a useful material to use as an anesthetic."

The findings are published in the journal ChemMedChem.

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