Preventing the pain of osteoarthritis – do molecules and proteins hold the answers?

This study also includes several collaborators, including members of the Arthritis Research UK Centre of Excellence for Pain (Professor Victoria Chapman and Dr. Federico Dajas-Bailador) and of the Arthritis Research UK Centre of Excellence for Osteoarthritis Pathogenesis (Professor Tonia Vincent).Nerve protein may protect against the onset and pain of arthritisMeanwhile, another three-year study will explore if a protein found on nerves in and around our joints could be used to reduce pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis.Susan Brain, Professor of Pharmacology at King’s College London, tells us more about why her team is conducting this research: "We've identified a protein found in our bodies which we hope could protect against the onset and pain of arthritis. Our research so far suggests when there’s a high level of this protein, called TRPC5, around our joints we feel less pain and when there’s not enough of it we're likely to see increased pain and arthritis."To explore this in more detail we've developed a chemical substance which can replicate the way the body naturally stimulates this protein. This will allow us to artificially increase levels of TRPC5 activity in and around the joints and look at the impact this has on pain and arthritis. In the long-term, and depending on what we discover, there's potential to use this as a drug to treat painful symptoms and stop the progression of arthritis.""In the long-term, and depending on what w...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news