Seminar "Endocannabinoid system in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritic joint pain" by Dr.Katarzyna Starowicz-Bubak

Date: Friday, February 15th

Time: 15:00 – 16:00

Venue: D015, Lab1

Speaker: Dr. Katarzyna Starowicz-Bubak

Title: Endocannabinoid system in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritic joint pain

Abstract: Acute pain is important for both the diagnosis and localization of the disease process, and for minimizing potential tissue damage. In contrast, chronic pain persisting despite the healing of damaged tissue or accompanying chronic disease does not meet any physiological function; it becomes the problem to be treated as the primary pathology. At present, the drugs currently available for the treatment of chronic pain are either based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids or antidepressants, which do not always provide sufficient analgesia, while also carrying the risk of potentially dangerous side-effects (e.g. bleeding from the digestive tract, respiratory depression) as well as the development of tolerance and dependence. Chronic pain is an unmet clinical problem that urgently requires the development of new treatments. One way this can be achieved is through a better understanding of the functional interaction between endogenous systems involved in the perception and transmission of pain stimuli.

The aim of our reseach is to determine the role of the endocannabinoid (CB1/2) and endovanilloid (TRPV1) receptors’ systems in the development and treatment of chronic pain. Particular emphasis is placed on the pain associated with nerve damage and osteoarthritis, which constitute the majority of clinical cases of chronic pain. Studies of the molecular changes occurring during the development of chronic pain and the interaction of two different endogenous systems that control transduction of nociceptive signaling represents an alternative approach to the treatment of chronic pain, and takes into account the dualistic nature of the TRPV1 and CB receptors’ ligands. Verifying the analgesic efficacy of hybrid compounds in two different animal models of chronic pain may help to develop a new, more effective and widely used treatment of chronic pain, regardless of its source.