Endocannabinoid-TRP Interactions In Midbrain Analgesic Pathways
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$586,903.00
Summary
Current pharmacotherapies for chronic pain are often ineffective. The active ingredient of the plant Cannabis sativa, THC, and a number of synthetic cannabinoids have efficacy in these pain states, however, they also produce a spectrum of adverse side-effects. This project will use cellular and behavioural techniques to examine how this cannabinoid system modulates intrinsic pain systems within the midbrain in order provide leads for novel analgesic pharmacotherapies with enhanced efficacy.
The Search For Novel Therapeutic Targets For The Treatment Of Chronic Pain.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,048.00
Summary
Chronic pain is very common, with one in five Australians suffering long-term pain that is serious enough to cause disability. It is extraordinarily difficult to treat. Medicines used to treat normal pain symptoms are usually ineffective on chronic pain patients because the cause of the pain is different. The aim of this project is to identify new drug targets in the spinal cord that are specific for chronic pain so we can develop new medicines to reverse the symptoms safely and effectively.
The Importance Of Receptor Trafficking For Signalling Of Pain And Inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$787,604.00
Summary
Inflammation and pain are normal processes that are essential for survival: inflammation fights infections and pain allows avoidance of danger. These processes are normally tightly controlled and are transient. During disease, they become dysregulated and chronic. By understanding the normal processes of inflammation and pain, and by determining how dysregulation causes disease, we aim to develop new treatments for diseases that are a major cause of human suffering.
Chronic inflammation underlies common and debilitating diseases and causes pain by unknown mechanisms. There is an urgent need to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of chronic pain, which will allow the development of improved therapies with fewer side-effects. Our research program investigates the mechanisms of pain that are associated with inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, with the goal of developing more effective and selective therapies.
Mechanisms Of Serotonergic And Triptan Mediated Analgesia Within The Midbrain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$546,937.00
Summary
Chronic pain requires multiple pharmacological interventions and these are often ineffective. These drugs include those which act on a diverse group of cell-surface proteins, called serotonin receptors. This project will use cellular and whole animal techniques to examine how these agents act within intrinsic pain and anxiety control systems within the brain in order to identify novel analgesic pharmacotherapies with enhanced efficacy and reduced side effects.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of the leading causes of chronic pain both world-wide and in Australia for which there is a lack of treatments. Chronic pain arises from nerve fibres in the colon wall, which fail to 'reset' back to normal following inflammation. Targeting these nerve endings with drugs is a key advance in IBS treatment. This project will identify selective oxytocin analogues that act in the colon to lower pain in sensory nerves thus providing efficacious pain relief in IBS.
Neuropathic pain is particularly difficult to treat and existing medications have considerable side effects. This project will develop a new set of glycine transport inhibitors that have the potential to provide pain relief without side effects.
Molecular Targets Of Amino Acid/neurotransmitter Conjugates Of Fatty Acids
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$846,390.00
Summary
This project investigates endogenous chemicals that affect cells important for detecting and responding to pain. We aim to discover how these compounds affect proteins important for nerve cell function, particularly proteins that have a prominent role in detecting and transmitting painful events. The compounds we examine are not themselves likely to be drugs, but future therapies may involve manipulating the levels of these chemicals in the body, or using drugs that mimic the activity of these c ....This project investigates endogenous chemicals that affect cells important for detecting and responding to pain. We aim to discover how these compounds affect proteins important for nerve cell function, particularly proteins that have a prominent role in detecting and transmitting painful events. The compounds we examine are not themselves likely to be drugs, but future therapies may involve manipulating the levels of these chemicals in the body, or using drugs that mimic the activity of these compounds.Read moreRead less
Discovery And Development Of Novel Venom Peptide Analgesics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$763,845.00
Summary
Professor Lewis will discover and develop new research tools and potential therapeutics from toxins acting on pain pathways. The Fellowship will leverage (i) well-funded collaborations with top Australian and international scientists (ii) the recently established IMB Centre for Pain Research that I lead as inaugural Director, and (iii) an outstanding Institute equipped with leading edge technologies for high throughput and high content discovery and proteomic and transcriptomic analysis.
Glycine Transport Inhibitors For The Treatment Of Pain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$923,660.00
Summary
Chronic pain is particularly difficult to treat. Whilst currently used opioid drugs are effective in acute pain, they are either ineffective in chronic pain or have considerable side effects. In this project we will develop a new class of analgesics that have a different mechanism of action to traditional analgesics. It is hoped that these new drugs will provide long term pain relief without debilitating side effects.