Human pain neuroscience and the next generation of pain therapeutics

Bryan A Copits; Michele Curatolo; Patrick M Dougherty; Robert W Gereau 4th; Wenqin Luo; Maryann Martone; Hakan Olausson; Theodore J Price; William Renthal; Clifford J Woolf; Guoyan Zhao; NIH PRECISION Human Pain Network

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2025.04.005

Human pain neuroscience and the next generation of pain therapeutics

Neuron. 2025 May 7;113(9):1304-1306. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.04.005.

Affiliations

¹ Washington University Pain Center and Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
² Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
³ Department of Pain Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
⁴ Washington University Pain Center and Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. Electronic address: gereaur@wustl.edu.
⁵ Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: luow@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.
⁶ Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
⁷ Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
⁸ Center for Advanced Pain Studies and Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA. Electronic address: theodore.price@utdallas.edu.
⁹ Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: wrenthal@bwh.harvard.edu.
¹⁰ F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center and Department of Neurobiology, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
¹¹ Department of Genetics and Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.

PMID: 40339567
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.04.005

Abstract

The recent approval of suzetrigine for acute pain treatment highlights both the success of targeting peripheral sensory neurons for pain management and the potential of developing new pain therapies primarily in human-based systems. To realize this transformative potential, further research into somatosensation and pain neuroimmunology in human systems is essential.

MeSH terms

Analgesics* / therapeutic use
Animals
Humans
Neurosciences* / trends
Pain Management* / methods
Pain Management* / trends
Pain* / drug therapy
Pain* / physiopathology
Sensory Receptor Cells / drug effects
Sensory Receptor Cells / physiology

Substances

Analgesics