Scientists have found an off-switch for pain

Researchers have found a way to block a pain pathway in animals - a step which will give hope to those suffering from chronic pain around the world.

In research published in the journal Brain scientists detail how switching on a receptor in the brain (the A3 receptor) and spinal chord can block or reverse chronic nerve pain in male and female rodents. Unlike other drugs used to help pain, this uses a stimulator called adenosine which binds to brain receptors rather than interfering with channels in the brain.

"While adenosine had shown potential for pain-killing in humans, researchers had not yet successfully leveraged this particular pain pathway because the targeted receptors engaged many side effects", scientists explained. They described the breakthrough as a "promising new approach to pain relief".

The research comes shortly after Harvard University scientists managed to create a miniature model of pain in a laboratory dish to better help understand pain.

More: 'Pain in a dish': Scientists create living model of human nerve cells