Capsaicin Used To Treat Pain
For thousands of years, the Chinese have used extracts of the chili pepper to treat pain. Now, some modern day doctors are using the chili pepper chemical called capsaicin to treat the pain of irritated nerves. That nerve pain is called neuropathy, and it's common in diabetes, shingles virus infections and in HIV-AIDS. Capsaicin in low doses already appears in creams for painful arthritic joints. Hot peppers all contain capsaicin; it's what makes them hot. And some new patches contain capsaicin to treat the pain and pins and needles feeling of neuropathy, nerve irritation often in the hands and feet. "The symptom that most prominent is pain and it turns out that this is something not well recognized by most physicians or treated aggressively," said Dr. David Simpson, of The Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Simpson is now doing a study at Mount Sinai on neuropathy, seeing people with diabetes. Learn More
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.
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