Can you imagine the possibility of turning off pain? Yes, not psychic pain, we are talking about having an accident and not feeling your body hurt, cutting yourself or getting a bruise and barely feeling pain (even if you can see it). Well, it turns out it is the job of a worm, the Schistosoma mansoni, and this is a disease that affects millions of people around the world.
Literally. This parasite, which causes the disease schistosomiasis, manages to enter the human body without anyone noticing and disconnects the neurons responsible for making us feel pain. Yes, we know you are thinking about how easy it would be to have this disease to never have muscle soreness again, but the reality is that it is very dangerous not to feel pain! We will tell you everything we know about this worm and what we could get from it, are you interested?
Entering unnoticed
This parasite manages to enter the human body through the skin or orifices when someone bathes in contaminated waters, but it enters very stealthily, it does not cause itching, burning, or discomfort. Nothing, you feel nothing. The worm settles in some areas of the brain but, as we said, the human does not notice anything.
The worm produces molecules that block a type of neurons called TRPV1+, which are responsible for warning us when something burns, hurts, or irritates, and provoke the reflex act of moving away from that damage. If you “disconnect” them, the body is left in silence, there is no alarm to warn you that you are hurting yourself. And if there is no alarm, there is also no immune system reaction.
Tests with mice
Since there were still many doubts about this parasite, researchers resorted to tests with mice. Some were given the parasite and others not. Then they applied heat. The infected mice endured longer without reacting, as if it did not bother them. It was also verified that their neurons barely responded to capsaicin, the spicy compound in chili peppers.
And it was all because the worm had “turned off” their pain sensors, and by doing so, it was also shutting down their defensive response!
And if this trick serves for something else?
Of course! That is the best part, that the way this parasite works and what it entails has turned out to be of maximum priority for scientists.
If they manage to isolate the molecules it uses to block pain, new medications could be developed, analgesics for example, that do not depend on opioids (with all their side effects and risks of addiction) and that could be capable of relieving pains that are difficult to treat today: inflammation, nerve damage, chronic pain…
The body cannot be left defenseless
That said, it is not as easy as copying the worm and that is it. The problem is that if a medication blocks pain too well, it could also interfere with the body’s natural defenses. Because that alarm system exists for a reason. Scientists now have the challenge of finding a formula that turns off pain without leaving the door open to infections or complications. That is why researchers are focused on isolating the responsible molecules and seeing to what extent they can be used safely.
Nature is incredible
Isn’t it curious that a parasite that causes a very dangerous disease could end up helping thousands of people live without pain?
What until now was a public health problem could hide one of the most valuable keys for medicine. In the end, nature is still a box of surprises!