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Using anti-inflammatories to treat pain might not always be a good idea, according to a new study. Blocking inflammation could indeed lead to more difficult problems to treat.
Using drugs like ibuprofen or steroids could increase the risk of developing chronic pain, according to a new study. At least that’s the phenomenon observed by researchers at McGill University and their colleagues in Italy, who have carried out work on humans and mice.
Blocking inflammation would prolong pain
For many years, anti-inflammatory drugs (corticosteroids, aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.) have been commonly used to treat pain. A habit not necessarily favored by all professionals:
“We found that this short-term solution could lead to longer-term problems“, explains Jeffrey Mogil, professor in the Department of Psychology at McGill University and holder of the EP Taylor Chair.
After studying the mechanism in animals, the researchers recruited nearly 98 participants with acute low back pain and followed them for 3 months.
Pain tests were then carried out. That’s how scientists discovered that neutrophils – white blood cells that help the body fight infection and disease – play a vital role in resolving pain.
“Analysis of immune cells from subjects with low back pain showed that neutrophil activation-dependent inflammatory genes were upregulated in subjects with resolved pain, whereas no changes were observed in patients with low back pain. persistent pain. In rodents, anti-inflammatory treatments prolonged the duration of pain and the effect was abolished by the administration of neutrophils.can we read in the study.
Clearly, neutrophil blockade in mice during the tests prolonged the pain for up to “ten times the normal duration”.
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Active changes in genes
Luda Diatchenko, professor at the Faculty of Medicine and holder of the Canada Excellence Research Chair in the Genetics of Human Pain, confirms these initial observations:
“By analyzing the genes of people with lower back pain, we observed active changes in genes over time in people whose pain disappeared. Changes in blood cells and their activity seemed to be the most important factor, especially in cells called neutrophils.”.
In summary, inflammation therefore seems to occur for a reason and it seems “that it is dangerous to interfere with it” according to the researchers. Thus, inflammation could have a long-term protective effect.
These results, supplemented by a large study (UK Biobank) of 500,000 people whose pain appeared “two to ten years” after taking anti-inflammatories, open up new perspectives for treating acute pain.