Medications that block pain at its source

This item is taken from the monthly magazine Sciences et Avenir n°952, dated June 2026.

One in three adults is affected. Two out of three consultations are devoted to it. And yet, faced with it, “We are using medicines from antiquity.” “She is pain.” This deliberately provocative statement by Professor Serge Perrot, head of the Pain Assessment and Treatment Center at Cochin Hospital, highlights a stark reality: treatments have barely evolved in the last twenty years. This is despite a considerable potential market for the pharmaceutical industry. In practice, therefore, options remain limited. While classic analgesics—paracetamol, anti-inflammatories, opioids—are relatively effective for acute pain, particularly inflammatory pain, the situation becomes more complicated for chronic pain.