US Pharm. 2015;40(3):16-17.

A new compound discovered by a team of UC Davis investigators has potent actions against production of a chemical that is implicated in the development of chronic pain following a peripheral nerve injury in the spinal cord. The findings are published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

The compound, a molecule named 6-chloro-8-(glycinyl)-amino-beta-carbolin, or 8-Gly carb, provides an important new avenue of research for developing drugs to prevent the severe pain that sometimes remains long after an injury or infection has healed.

“We have discovered a new compound that is 43 times more potent in inhibiting nitrous oxide production than the current reference compound known to have this action,” said Fredric Gorin, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Neurology and co-principal investigator for the study. “That makes 8-Gly carb a potentially very fruitful focus for new drug development against neuropathic pain syndromes.”