Journal of Pain Research

Tapentadol: just another opioid or an innovative strong analgesic?

In recent years, it has emerged that pain signaling and modulatory mechanisms change following physiopathological events, such as neuropathic and inflammatory pain, the two major types of pain. Very different chemical events and ion channel changes, respectively, underlie these types of pain at peripheral levels, so treatments have to differ. Understanding the mechanisms for pain enhancement and modulation can help explain these altered pain states in patients and will lead to more effective treatments. This series describes Tapentadol, the only member of the new MOR-NRI class of analgesic agents, and its potential as a new option for the treatment of cancer and noncancer pain.