Abuse of substances or methods to enhance the performance is becoming very common in the sports, which often destroys the spirit of competition. The regulatory bodies for sports have reported rates ranging from 5% to 31% for the use of performance-enhancing substances among athletes. Athletes can have serious injuries and morbidities, leading to poor health with the use of such substances. Commonly abused agents in sports include anabolic-androgenic steroids and its analogs, blood, erythropoietin, growth hormone and its derivatives, nutritional supplements, creatine, amphetamines, beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB), stimulants, and analgesics. Health-care professionals need to be careful while prescribing medicines to sportspersons. Knowledge of exercise physiology, pharmacology of the commonly used agents for sports-related injuries, and agents used for doping could help the sportspersons and health-care professionals to avoid the embarrassment arising because of misuse of these agents. Sports pharmacology includes study of the various aspects of the drug use and abuse in sports and treatment of sports-related injuries. Focusing on sports pharmacology in the medical curriculum can help the upcoming health-care professionals to support the sportspersons to improve the quality of their life by using various drugs and other substances within the standardized limits and avoid embarrassment of doping.

Pain is an unpleasant subjective feeling having implications on both physical and mental realm. Multiple dimensions of pain involving behavioral, spiritual, emotional, and cognitive changes have been studied and pathways elucidated. It is stressed that the nature in which pain is modulated and perceived at a higher center is a complex phenomenon. One of the main goals of pain modulation is to modify pain to a more tolerable level, rather than its complete eradication. Different pain management interventions were tried but have effects that are more adverse. Till date, the only reliable pain blockers are analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs in the form of opioids and non-opioids. Despite this, most of the drugs are ineffective at various levels, furthermore, adding to complications. Thus, there is an urgent need for effective intervention with minimal side effects. Ascorbic acid, popularly known as vitamin C, has shown to exhibit promising analgesic properties. The literature is sparse with the usage of the drug in various forms of pain. This review focuses on the dynamics and kinetics of vitamin C and its usage in various forms of pain. With minimal adverse effects, the drug is shown to perform well in different types of pain disorders, thus paving way for alternative interventional agent for pain management.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise a large number of receptors. Orphan GPCRs are divided into six families. These groups contain orphan receptors for which the endogenous ligands are unclear. They have various physiological effects in the body and have the potential to be used in the treatment of different diseases. Considering their important role in the central and peripheral nervous system, their role in the treatment of pain has been the subject of some recent studies. At present, there are effective therapeutics for the treatment of pain including opioid medications and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. However, the side effects of these drugs and the risks of tolerance and dependence remain a major problem. In addition, neuropathic pain is a condition that does not respond to currently available analgesic medications well. In the present review article, we aimed to review the most recent findings regarding the role of orphan GPCRs in the treatment of pain. Accordingly, based on the preclinical findings, the role of GPR3, GPR7, GPR8, GPR18, GPR30, GPR35, GPR40, GPR55, GPR74, and GPR147 in the treatment of pain was discussed. The present study highlights the role of orphan GPCRs in the modulation of pain and implies that these receptors are potential new targets for finding better and more efficient therapeutics for the management of pain particularly neuropathic pain.

With the current unmet demand for effective analgesics and the opioid crisis, pain relief without major central adverse effects is highly appealing. In this issue of Neuron, Snyder et al. (2018) report on the localization, functions, and therapeutic potential of kappa opioid receptors in peripheral sensory neurons.