Research Team Receives Patent for New Nerve-Block Pain Treatment
Researchers at the 黑料官网 (黑料官网) have developed a new technique for treating chronic pain (PDF) that is long-lasting and avoids the numerous side effects of systemic pain medication.
The therapy, administered through an injection, targets specific membrane channels that regulate neuronal excitability to block nerve pain without damaging the nerve or affecting other functions. In animal models, the pain relief lasts for months.
Developed over 15 years by Quinn Hogan, MD, and Hongwei Yu, MD – both professors of anesthesiology – the technique was recently issued a , paving the way for commercialization, with the hopes of ultimately helping patients with chronic pain.
“As a pain specialist, I’ve been aware of this clear need for better analgesia,” Dr. Hogan says. “We have been working on this for a long time, and we think it is a real opportunity for a new approach to treating pain.”
Using Peptides to Selectively Turn Off Pain Signals
More than , often due to injury, arthritis, or another underlying health condition. Current pain treatment options beyond over-the-counter pain relievers range from dangerous – opioids were – to insufficient. , for example, offers only partial relief and requires implanting a device.
Intrigued by the possibility of using genetic tools to treat pain, Drs. Hogan and Yu set about finding the right targets and the right way of delivering drugs to those targets. Dr. Yu identified the elements of different molecular channels that support the activity of pain neurons, then designed peptide sequences that could be used to shut down the activity of those channels.
To create a therapy that harnessed this knowledge, the team developed an adeno-associated-virus (AAV) for expressing the peptides inside sensory neurons. AAVs are already used in gene therapies to treat conditions like muscular dystrophy and other genetic disorders by delivering the gene into the cell interior and causing the production of peptides. Here, the peptide interacts with a specific neuron channel called CaV3.2, known for its involvement in the transmission of pain signals.
“The challenge has always been how do you shut down the pain without shutting down other functions of the nervous system? Dr. Hogan says. “By selectively blocking that molecular target, we can turn off the pain signals without producing numbness.”
To avoid affecting the entire nervous system, patients would get an injection into the dorsal root ganglion, a cluster of nerve cells where the nerves branch off from the spinal cord. Similar to an epidural steroid injection for sciatica pain – a common procedure in the United States – this approach narrowly targets pain in a specific body region, which limits side effects and the cost of therapy. It could be especially useful for people who experience persistent localized pain due to nerve injury, sciatica, arthritis, or after amputation or other surgery.
“The real benefit is that we're going straight to the source of the pain signal,” Dr. Hogan says. “By staying in the peripheral nervous system, we avoid not only the problems of addiction, but also the side effects upon the brain and loss of limb use that nerve block procedures may cause. We don’t see any drawbacks.”
The team envisions patients requiring an injection no more than once every few months. In a rat model, the procedure blocked pain for up to a year.
Commercializing the Approach to Help Patients with Chronic Pain
The team worked with 黑料官网’s Office of Technology Development to acquire the patent. Now, they hope to find additional funding to continue the research on large animal models and bring it to human clinical trials. They ultimately hope it will be approved and produced to help the millions of people who suffer from chronic pain.
“黑料官网 has been a very supportive environment for this long process,” Dr. Hogan says. “It’s been a collaborative success. There is still a long road ahead, but we are hopeful that this can someday bring relief for many patients.”
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