Research conducted by a team of the Institute of Medical Sciences and IIT, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), has found that it may be possible to cure chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CINP) by genetically manipulating and delivering siRNA to target sites by nanotechnology. 

The research was conducted by Dr Nimisha Verma of the department of Anaesthesiology, IMS-BHU and Dr Vinod Tiwari of the department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, IIT(BHU). This study has been published in the January 2022 edition of a globally reputed Life Science Journal. Dr Tiwari said that cancer patients suffer from severe pain. Not only the disease, but the treatment of cancer can also cause unbearable pain.

One such type of pain is chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CINP), which is among the most common clinical complications associated with the use of anti-cancer drugs. It is a significant dose-limiting and treatment-limiting side effect of treatment. The CINP occurs in nearly 68.1 per cent of the cancer patients receiving chemotherapeutic drugs. The therapeutic glory of TRPV1 is well recognised in clinics which give a promising insight into the treatment of pain.

According to him, the adverse effects associated with some of the antagonists directed the scientists towards RNA interference (RNAi), a tool to silence gene expression. TRPV1 is widely present in the nerve cells and it has been reported that the higher expression of TRPV1 plays a critical role in chemotherapy-induced pain. This unrelenting pain responds poorly to common analgesics and even opioids. The available treatment for CINP has some severe side effects.

This was the triggering question when scientists ventured into research on TRPV1 siRNA formulation. For this, Dr Nimisha Verma and Dr Vinod Tiwari came up with a novel solution to this problem through genetic engineering and nanotechnology. According to them, the research involves the blocking of expression of the TRPV1 receptor through a small interfering RNA molecule (siRNA). The novel siRNA formulation suggested by the ongoing research has shown quick management of pain without side effects which would be very effective for the patients.