Use of human tissues to identify molecules linked with oro-facial pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The use of lingual nerve and tooth pulp tissue to identify molecules linked with chronic oro-facial pain
IRAS ID
227367
Contact name
Emma V Bird
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Chronic pain represents a major clinical problem that can severely affect the quality of life of the patients, and for which in many cases there are no satisfactory methods of treatment. Previous studies have shown that changes occuring at sites of nerve injury and inflammation, may be responsible for the onset and cause of pain. This project focuses on the expression of genes and molecules in nerves that may be playing a role in pain experienced by two groups of patients: 1) those who have an injury to the nerve that supplies their tongue, the lingual nerve, and 2) those experiencing toothache, nerves in the tooth (tooth pulp). Using a range of techniques, nerve specimens from patients with and without pain, will be analysed to determine the expression of specific genes and molecules. These findings will further our understanding of the cause of nerve injury-induced and inflammatory pain, and will help identify targets for new treatments of chronic pain.
The tissues to be used in this study have already been collected and consented for use in research under South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee (06/Q2305/151), STH13926 Mechanisms of oro-facial pain, histological, genomic and proteomic investigations, which ended on 31.12.2016, and is currently stored within facilities at the Sheffield Biorepository, Royal Hallamshire Hospital.REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EE/0238
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion