HEAL-ing pain at NIH

In a move that could change how pain is studied and treated, NIH is planning a series of projects to build a platform for translational research that is more predictive and reproducible than the current paradigms. The agency hopes to find new strategies to intercept chronic pain as it develops and spur development of non-addictive therapies.

NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative, launched in April and described in a June Journal of the American Medical Association viewpoint, offers a path to a coordinated effort to capitalize on emerging ideas and new technologies in the field. The interdisciplinary program is part of the institute’s response to the opioid crisis and seeks solutions through preclinical, clinical and community-based research. ...