Descripción del proyecto
Neurotoxinas para el tratamiento de la artrosis
La artrosis es una enfermedad degenerativa asociada a la descomposición del colágeno del cartílago de las articulaciones que amortigua los huesos. Se caracteriza por un dolor debilitante que se suele tratar con antiinflamatorios no esteroideos y opiáceos. Sin embargo, estos tratamientos no siempre son eficaces o provocan efectos secundarios, por lo que es necesario recurrir a alternativas. En el proyecto Arth-Alleve, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, se pretende abordar esta necesidad médica no cubierta mediante el desarrollo de un tratamiento no farmacológico. La estrategia se basa en el uso de moléculas neurotóxicas para bloquear los nervios asociados al dolor de la artrosis. Estas se unirán a partículas de hidrogel para evitar su liberación a la circulación, con lo que proporcionarán un efecto localizado y contribuirán a una mejora significativa de la calidad de vida de los pacientes.
Objetivo
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.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsInstitución de acogida
H91 Galway
Irlanda