The present invention pertains to novel analgesics useful for treating mechanical pain. The invention suggests the use of inhibitors of a-tubulin acetylation for inhibition of neurological sensations that are mediated by sensory neurons. The perception of mechanical pain is can be modulated by altering the a-tubulin acetylation, in context of the invention in particular by modulation of the expression and/or activity of the enzyme a-tubulin acetyltransferase (Atat). The invention provides the medical application of a-tubulin acetyltransferase inhibitors as analgesics and a screening method for the identification of compounds useful in the treatment of pain.
