Scientists discover powerful potential pain reliever. Chemists have discovered a powerful pain reliever that acts on a previously unknown pain pathway. The compound is as effective at relieving neuropathic pain in injured mice as a drug widely used for pain relief called gabapentin. If they can demonstrate that it is safe, effective and nonaddictive in humans -- a process that typically takes years -- the discovery could address one of today's biggest public health challenges: the opioid abuse epidemic. Source 3t.