Anesthetic blocks pain, not motor function

BOSTON, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Children's Hospital Boston scientists say they've discovered a local anesthetic that provides long-lasting pain relief without affecting motor function.

The researchers, led by Dr. Daniel Kohane, said if the nerve-blocking anesthetic works as well on humans as it did laboratory rats, it could be useful in a variety of medical applications, "providing, for example, a local anesthetic for childbirth that would block pain without interfering with the mother's ability to push, or for musculoskeletal disorders in which it is important to maintain mobility."

The research is reported in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.