SIU Professer Will Study Pain

Springfield, Illinois - An Illinois researcher has received a million-dollar federal grant to study a potential new treatment for chronic, debilitating pain.
The experimental drug comes from a cactus-like plant and is
similar to the active ingredient in hot peppers.
Pharamacology Professor Louis Premkumar was awarded the grant
from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He'll be investigating
the drug in his lab at Southern Illinois University's medical
school in Springfield.
The drug is called Resiniferatoxin (reh-sin-ih-FEHR-oh-tox-in).
It's injected directly into the spinal cord. Researchers hope it
could be an alternative to morphine, which has severe side effects.