Nerve 'Memories' Hold Clues to Treating Chronic Pain
Nerve 'Memories' Hold Clues to Treating Chronic Pain With the U.S. Congress focusing on an epidemic of opioid abuse in this country, some new research is focusing on chronic pain as one of the reasons people get hooked on pain meds. As VOA reported Wednesday, an estimated 30,000 people in the United States will die this year as a direct result of opiate abuse. The United States consumes 80 percent of the world's prescription opiates, and an estimated 100 million Americans live with pain. The U.S. Congress, in a rare show of bipartisan support, is considering all kinds of initiatives to fight the epidemic and restrict the free flow of painkillers. Meanwhile, some scientists are focusing on why our natural response to pain can persist long after an injury is fully healed. Your nerves remember We've all had our share of scrapes, cuts, bruises, sprained ankles and broken bones. They hurt, then they heal. The pain comes, and then it goes. Except so...