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This old-fashioned remedy works in part by depleting something called substance P. Because this compound is important for pain perception, reducing it through repeated applications of capsaicin can ease inflammation and pain.

Repeated application to the skin depletes substance P from the sensory nerves, allowing temporary relief from pain.

Regrettably, selective blockade of the receptor used by substance P—the neurokinin-1, or NK-1, receptor—has failed in clinical trials for pain, perhaps because blocking that receptor by itself is insufficient.

This cell-killing therapy couples saporin, a toxin, to substance P. The substance P in the conjugate binds to NK-1 receptors, leading to internalization of the whole compound, after which the saporin is freed to kill the neuron.

With sepsis, Mansell said the body commonly creates too much nitric oxide or substance P, which causes more problems for the patient.