In a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers said they found a new class of drug molecules that "effectively blocked neuropathic pain" in rodents, and the results are expected to lead to human clinical trials.

"This discovery offers a promising new approach to controlling chronic pain in diabetics," says study author Bora Inceoglu of the university's department of entomology. He said that it is still too early for the new compounds to be converted to analgesic drugs due to a lengthy FDA approval process. "However, once the feasibility of this approach is demonstrated, hopefully a major hurdle in moving toward clinical application is overcome," he said.

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