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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Electrophysiological Methods to Assess Peripheral Pain Block in an Anesthetized Rat
Published on: November 21, 2025
Blocking sodium channels to treat neuropathic pain
Birgit T Priest1, Gregory J Kaczorowski
1Merck Research Laboratories, Department of Ion Channels, Rahway, NJ 07065, USA. birgit_priest@merck.com
Abstract:
Neuropathic pain remains a large unmet medical need. A number of therapeutic options exist, but efficacy and tolerability are less than satisfactory. Based on animal models and limited data from human patients, the pain and hypersensitivity that characterize neuropathic pain are associated with spontaneous discharges of normally quiescent nociceptors. Sodium channel blockers inhibit this spontaneous activity, reverse nerve injury-induced pain behavior in animals and alleviate neuropathic pain in humans. Several sodium channel subtypes are expressed primarily in sensory neurons and may contribute to the efficacy of sodium channel blockers. In this report, the authors review the current understanding of the role of sodium channels and of specific sodium channel subtypes in neuropathic pain signaling.
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