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Targeting druggable kinases in neuropathic pain

Harrison Benson1, Komalpreet Kaur1, Mahmoud Salama Ahmed2,3

  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Amarillo, TX, USA.

Npj Drug Discovery
|July 21, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Developing non-opioid pain therapies remains challenging. This review explores protein kinases as potential targets to reverse neuropathic pain, offering hope beyond the opioid crisis.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Pain Management

Background:

  • Neuropathic pain is prevalent, yet effective non-opioid treatments are scarce.
  • The opioid crisis necessitates alternative pain management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review druggable protein kinases involved in pain signaling.
  • To identify molecular strategies for reversing neuropathic pain symptoms.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of preclinical and clinical studies.
  • Focus on protein kinases and their associated molecular modalities.

Main Results:

  • Protein kinases play crucial roles in pain pathway progression.
  • Specific kinases and scaffolds show potential for therapeutic intervention.

Conclusions:

  • Targeting protein kinases offers a promising avenue for non-opioid neuropathic pain therapies.
  • Further research into kinase inhibitors could yield novel analgesics.

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