500 years ago, scientists made the groundbreaking discovery that opium could be used for the treatment of pain. But since then, we haven’t actually made a whole lot of progress. Opioid based medications remain by far the best for treating short term acute pain, but long-term chronic pain is a different story.  

Our best answer for chronic pain remains an indefinite, perpetual prescription of pills, which have a range of debilitating side effects and carry severe risks of addiction and abuse. Given that pain is something we have all experienced in our lives, isn’t it time to come up with some different solutions? With a better understanding of how pain actually works, thanks to neuroscience, some radical new treatments are in the works that will help us move beyond prescription painkillers. Jack Hamilton shares these developments.

For more information, visit unsw.to/JackHamilton.

This talk was a part of Fresh Blood, an event of short talks in the 2022 Festival of Dangerous Ideas.

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