[Non-opioids in pain therapy: current perspectives].

Increasing knowledge of the mechanisms underlying nociceptive processing are making a more rationale approach to pain treatment possible. Recent research has confirmed relevant differences between NSAIDs and the direct analgesic action of several psychotropic drugs. Alpha 2-adrenergic agonists are being clinically tested and have shown considerable analgesic activity in various pain states. Simultaneous treatment of pain with complementary analgesics, i.e. "balanced analgesia", seems to be a logical approach in the light of the close interactions between the different nociceptive pathways. The indications for the use of known analgesics in chronic pain therapy are insufficiently researched.