Light - Pain Reliever

Abstract

Scientists from US and Germany have synthesized a chemical substance that cuts off the sensation of pain, when a light is shone on it. It leaves other senses and facilities intact as it selectively targets pain-sensing neurons in the brain. The molecule, which goes by the code name QAQ, actually mimics the activity of a new derivative of lidocaine, a local anesthetic, commonly used for tooth extraction by the dentists. Lidocaine derivative, known as QX-314, was first announced in 2007 by a team of researchers from the Harvard Medical School in Boston. Unlike the parent drug QX-314 has the ability to target exclusively the neurons involved in pain sensation. However, the scientists, who developed QAQ, have gone one step further by synthesizing a photosensitive pain blocker. As soon as the molecule is exposed to light, it becomes active and shuts off the pain sensation instantaneously.