Project description
Nanoparticle-based treatment of neuropathic pain
Chronic neuropathic pain, which results from nerve damage or a malfunctioning nervous system, affects 60 million people worldwide. As current pain killers are only partially effective, new therapies are desirable. The EU-funded PIANO project proposes that local targeted delivery to the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) can optimise pain management and allow monitoring changes of pain transmission under neuropathic pain conditions. PIANO focuses on pain mechanisms at the DRG which contain the cell bodies of specialised neurones that transmit noxious signalling from the periphery to the central nervous system, where pain is perceived. Researchers will identify the DRG involved in pain signalling by the aid of targeted nanoparticles to enable visualisation of pain and inflammation and the delivery of analgesic compounds.
Objective
Chronic pain is a debilitating disease, which affects approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide, and of those, approximately
4% suffer from neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is often described as a shooting or burning pain that can come and then
disappear but equally it may become chronic, where the pain may become unrelenting and severe. It often is the result of
nerve damage or a malfunctioning nervous system. Additionally there is the impact upon society where the costs related to
disability allowance, treatment, lost wages and productivity impacts the economy. Current treatments for chronic pain are not
fully reliable and there is a severe lack of tools to diagnose or visualise the pain process within the dorsal root ganglia
(DRG). Humans have 62 DRGs which are the first relay stations in the pain pathway. Local targeted treatment at the level of
those DRGs involved in the pain process is the solution to circumvent side effects and optimise treatment. We aim to identify
involved DRGs by visualising cells or molecules in the DRG which are directly or indirectly associated with the generation of
pain. We will use a novel method of nanoparticles targeted towards pain-associated cells or molecules in the DRG. A vast
amount of neuropathic pain studies have shown an eminent infiltration of macrophages into affected DRGs. These
nanoparticles will be specifically designed to target initially the macrophages in the DRG, encapsulating both therapeutic
payloads and imaging contrast reagents to monitor pain-associated activities. The goal of PIANO is therefore to facilitate a
state-of-art approach to visualisation of neuropathic pain / inflammation at DRG sites as well as to simultaneously release
analgesic molecules from the nanoparticles.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Coordinator
WC2R 2LS London
United Kingdom