NINDS Corner: The Helping to End Addiction Long‐Term Initiative and Pain Neurology.

The Integrative Management of chronic Pain and OUD [opioid use disorder] for Whole Recovery (IMPOWR) network targets the challenging problem of the treatment of acute or chronic pain in persons with co-occurring substance use disorder. Chronic pain disorders are leading causes of disability worldwide.[1] In the United States, more than 50 million people suffer with pain daily or on most days,[2] and those most severely impacted also have a heavier burden of medical comorbidities.[3] The current epidemic of overdose deaths in the United States originated from the overprescribing of highly addictive opioids to treat pain amidst a landscape of woefully inadequate treatment alternatives. HEAL is investing in the validation and testing of novel pain therapeutics, developing biomarkers for different pain conditions, creating a "virtual pharmaceutical" platform for optimizing a treatment over time, and preparing for US Food and Drug Administration approval to begin clinical trials. [Extracted from the article]