Millions of people live with chronic nerve pain that can make even the lightest touch feel intense and unbearable. Scientists have long believed that this kind of pain may begin when mitochondria, the tiny structures that produce energy inside cells, stop working properly in damaged nerves.

Now, researchers at Duke University School of Medicine say restoring healthy mitochondria could offer a completely new way to treat that pain.

In a study published in Nature , the team used both human tissue and mouse models to test whether replenishing mitochondria could help damaged nerve cells recover. The treatment significantly reduced pain linked to diabetic neuropathy and chemotherapy-related nerve damage.…