The researchers’ goal is to develop non-opioid therapies to relieve the chronic pain that reduces quality of life for about half of diabetic patients. “Diabetic neuropathy is different from most kinds of neuropathic pain because, in other cases, there is generally some kind of injury, like a damaged nerve,” Yousuf said. The study will address a subtype of diabetic neuropathy involving elevated levels of methylglyoxal, an organic compound that is a known biomarker for potential neuropathy. Yousuf and his collaborators suspect pain in diabetic patients is caused by methylglyoxal inducing the integrated stress response — a biochemical signaling pathway that helps cells adapt to changing conditions. “If we learn what happens between methylglyoxal and the integrated stress response, and how the integrated stress response alters neuronal behavior, we can test drugs that inhibit the integrated stress response,” Yousuf said.