Preface [Hot topic: Neuropathic Pain: Some Clues for the Future (Executive Editor: Ana Martinez)]

People usually think of pain as having some physical cause. Get rid of the cause, and the pain goes away. However, nerves themselves can also generate pain, and this pain often doesn't go away easily. It is called neuropathic pain (from the Greek neuro, meaning nerves, and pathy, meaning abnormality). It can be puzzling and frustrating for people who have it and for doctors who treat it. Currently there is no proven treatment to prevent or cure neuropathic pain, but recent research has seen great progress in understanding its causes and in finding new drugs that promise great benefit. The first goal of this monographic issue is to review current knowledge of the targets, mechanisms, new drugs and treatments of neuropathic pain and prospects for the future with the aim of helping the scientific community in the search for effective therapies for this widespread disability. Dr. J.E. Banos and co-workers summarise the current understanding of the potential targets for neuropathic pain drug design and / or intervention in their complete concise revision. The state-of-the-art of the new drugs for neuropathic pain from a medicinal chemistry point of view is considered by the group of Dr. M.L. Lopez in its review focused on VR1 receptor modulators, Dr. A. Ferrer-Montiel et al., describing excellent analysis of small molecules targeting the NMDA receptor, my colleagues Drs. S. Morales and L. Rubio, focusing on AMPA glutamate receptor, and Dr. P. Goya and co-workers shedding light on the progress towards cannabinoids and neuropathic pain. Antidepressant drugs that have been used for over 30 years to cure neuropathic pain were accurately update by Drs. C. Mattia and F. Coluzzi. Finally, the oceans hold further promising compounds that might lead to new drugs. Conotoxins obtained from the predatory snails of the genus Conus probably describe a new era in the future treatment of neuropathic pain. A brief introduction of conotoxins by my colleague Diana Alonso precedes the complete table prepared by Dr. B. Livett and co-workers, focusing on therapeutic conopeptides. All the drugs belonging to the conopeptide family currently developing for treatment of neuropathic pain are described herein. I am very grateful to all the above-mentioned contributors for their excellent work and their willingness in the prompt submission of their manuscript. I signally hope readers will enjoy this issue and will find new clues to accelerate their own research