EFIC 2025, Day 1/3, Thursday April 24
Relevance of non-evoked read-outs in rodent models of neuropathic pain has long been recognized. However, meaningful data supporting translational drug development is still sparse. Miguel A. Huerta and colleagues present a systematic review on this topic and highlight one important gap, i.e. lack of (published?) clinically relevant analgesics in many studies (I-C.02).
With the first NaV 1.8 blocker (Suzetrigine) approved and more novel drugs following, methods for clinical subtype-specific differentiation gain interest. Colleagues from Aalborg and Aachen (Trine Andresen) present an interesting threshold tracking-based SCENT protocol and I am looking forward to future data generated with this paradigm (I-C.32).
Capsaicin patch with a high concentration of 179 mg is an established treatment of PNP. First hints of a potentially disease modifying effect have been published earlier by Manon Sendel et al. (2023). A retrospective study corroborates this line of thinking and demonstrates an increase in efficacy with repeated treatment (Marielle Eerdekens, I-A2.W.05). A novel slow-release capsaicin formulation shows promising preclinical efficacy with reduced acute nociception upon intra-articular administration in the rat MIA model (Rosmara Infantino, I-A2.W.08). While recent clinical OA data with resiniferatoxin could not demonstrate analgesic efficacy, such a modified capsaicin formulation might be worth testing in the clinic with local administration.
While CRPS is still poorly understood and comes with a high medical need for novel treatment options, interesting insight comes from a new angle. Amir Minerbi and colleagues present data on gut microbiome composition and function in patients with painful CRPS and pain-free controls. Clear up- and down-regulation of bacterial species were detected. Being far from translating these findings into new analgesics, they might support our understanding of the disease (I-A.39).
