Projektbeschreibung
Neurotoxin zur Behandlung von Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis ist eine degenerative Erkrankung, die mit dem Abbau von Kollagen im Knorpel der Gelenke einhergeht, der für die Dämpfung der Knochen zuständig ist. Sie ist durch lähmende Schmerzen gekennzeichnet, die konventionell mit nicht-steroidalen entzündungshemmenden Arzneimitteln und Opioiden behandelt werden. Da diese Maßnahmen jedoch nicht immer wirksam sind oder zu Nebenwirkungen führen, müssen alternative Therapien gefunden werden. Das ERC-finanzierte Projekt Arth-Alleve zielt darauf ab, diesen ungedeckten medizinischen Bedarf durch die Entwicklung einer nicht-pharmakologischen Therapie zu decken. Die Strategie basiert auf der Verwendung von Neurotoxin-Molekülen zur Blockierung der mit den Arthrose-Schmerzen verbundenen Nerven. Diese werden an Hydrogelpartikeln verankert, um zu verhindern, dass sie in den Blutkreislauf entweichen. Dadurch wirken sie nur lokal und tragen zu einer deutlichen Verbesserung der Lebensqualität der Betroffenen bei.
Ziel
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of chronic pain in older persons in Europe and is the leading cause of disability. The disease is a condition affecting the joint cartilage and subchondral bone and is frequently accompanied by pain, stiffness, and long-term disability. Chronic pain is the most prominent symptom in most people with OA, and is the most important determinant of disability in patients with osteoarthritis. Treatment guidelines for OA pain management uniformly recommends a range of pharmacological therapies, including paracetamol, NSAIDs and opioids, together with non-pharmacological therapies. However, such therapies are restricted by considerable side effects and limited efficacy, as well as country-specific restrictions on prescriptions (e.g. on opioid use). Given the risks and side effects associated with current therapies, the long-term outlook for OA patients is bleak. Currently there exists no non-pharm effective therapy for OA pain management. OA patients are left with two options: Manage the debilitating chronic pain using over-the-counter and/or prescription medication, with all of the risk and side effects associated with those therapies; or try to independently cope with the pain and all of the personal, economic and societal challenges that chronic pain presented. Within the ambitious Arth-alleve project, we propose to develop a non-pharma side-effect-free long-term therapy for OA patients, providing new hope to the growing cohort of European citizens affected by this debilitating disease. The Arth-Alleve project will explore the concept of attaching neurotoxin molecules to hydrogel particles, to enable the mechanism of nerve blocking to occur, with the hydrogel acting as a long-term anchor preventing migration of the molecule from the target site. This project will truly transform the treatment of chronic OA pain, and the Quality of Life of the large cohort of European patients suffering from the condition.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
Schlüsselbegriffe
Programm/Programme
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Thema/Themen
Finanzierungsplan
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsGastgebende Einrichtung
H91 Galway
Irland