LAURAN NEERGAARD
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The dog hopped on three legs, pain from bone cancer so bad that he wouldn’t let his afflicted fourth paw touch the floor. His owner was bracing for euthanasia when scientists offered a novel experiment: They injected a fiery sap from a Moroccan plant into Scooter’s spinal column - and the dog frolicked on all fours again for several months.

The chemical destroyed nerve cells that sensed pain from Scooter’s cancer, not helping the tumor but apparently making him no longer really feel it.

The dramatic effect in dogs has researchers from the National Institutes of Health preparing to test the chemical in people whose pain from advanced cancer is unrelieved by even the strongest narcotics.

The first human study could begin by next year, at the NIH’s Bethesda, Md., hospital. A second study in pain-ridden dogs is slated for this summer at the University of Pennsylvania.
Full story available from these sources:
Plant could hold secret for new pain medication Seattle Times

Sap from `hot’ plant treats pain, Good results on dogs with cancer
Researchers eye future use on humans Toronto Star, Jan. 17,