COMBINE the most potent neurotoxin known to man and a protein from the Mediterranean coral tree, and what do you get? The answer could be a treatment for the chronic pain that afflicts millions of people, including cancer patients.
The neurotoxin in question is botulinum toxin, perhaps better known as Botox, the treatment that has smoothed out the wrinkles on many a celebrity forehead. But it is also used to treat an increasing range of medical conditions.
The neurotoxin, whose effects can last for months, works by blocking the release of the neurotransmitters that relay the “contract now” message from…
