Biomarkers of neuropathic pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The identification of biomarkers in neuropathic pain.
IRAS ID
118367
Contact name
Patrick McHugh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Huddersfield
Research summary
The two main types of chronic pain are inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain (NP). Inflammatory pain is associated with tissue damage and the resulting inflammatory process. In contrast, NP is caused by lesions of the nervous system which can result from trauma, xenobiotics, infection or existing underlying disease, such as diabetes or depression. Common symptoms include an exaggerated response to a painful stimulus (hyperalgesia) or pain occurring from a normally non-painful input (allodynia). Chronic pain may involve a mix of both inflammatory and neuropathic factors. Whereby inflammation may cause damage to the neurons and produce neuropathic pain, conversely, neuronal injury may cause an inflammatory reaction (neurogenic inflammation) that contributes to inflammatory pain. Due to these complex processes and varying manifestations, NP is universally recognized as one of the most difficult pain syndromes to diagnose, and therefore treat , with most pharmacological treatment of patients determined by trial and error. Therefore, we aim to develop a simple but robust blood test to identify predetermined biomarkers that can discern different forms of NP, which can enable clinicians to identify more effective treatments. Biomarkers to be explored will include pathways or molecules that have previously been linked to pain, including the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) pathway and the endocannabinoid system, as well exploring for novel NP-related pathways.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/YH/0117
Date of REC Opinion
5 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion