According to a report in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management treatment with a high-concentration capsaicin patch was a safe and well-tolerated method of reducing pain of HIV patients. Capsaicin is a potent ingredient of chili peppers.
The report states that up to 62% of HIV-infected patients experience extensive painful neurological pain that extends into the legs. The reason for the pain is undetermined but may be as a result of either the illness or a side effect of the HIV treatment medication.
Previous testing of low-dose capsaicin found that while it was effective on many painful conditions it was not effective on HIV-related neuropathy. Therefore Dr. David M. Simpson, from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and colleagues hypothesized that a higher dose might be effective.
"The most important finding is that the high-concentration capsaicin patch produced long-lasting (i.e. at least 3 months), significant pain relief in HIV-associated peripheral neuropathy with a good safety profile," said Simpson. "This is an exciting time in research of new treatments for neuropathic pain," such as HIV-related pain, shingles and diabetic neuropathy, "with new drugs on the horizon."
Previous stories on the use of capsaicin can be found here:
Chili Pepper Hot Sauce Used in Surgeries
Chili Peppers as an Anesthetic?
[Source: MedLinePlus]
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