New quest to uncover the causes of post-traumatic arthritis

Posted in Frontiers in Neurology a research journal of the European Academy of Neurology researchers have been awarded 20000 (2. 2 million pounds) to gain a deeper understanding of the causes of post-traumatic arthritis.

Parkinsons disease is a common and costly neurological disorder which damages nerve cells in the body. Opioid pain medicines and body manipulation can also be used to treat some cases which can affect peoples daily life. Several medications have been developed to help patients. In 2017 more than 2. 1 million cases of post-traumatic arthritis were reported across the UK with about half of them to athletes (10).

Martina Sznamus-Nagy Research Fellow in Neurology at the Institute of Psychiatry Psychology Neuroscience Kings College London who is part of a team said:

We know that many patients suffering from chronic pain see a number of different doctors and neurologists who mean that they will rarely see a specialist. If a patient remains on a prescribed drug and needs to be reminded of their place it can be life-threatening.

For these patients there is an urgent need to uncover as much about their condition as possible. For the early stage they do not understand how they are living with pain. These patients are often diagnosed late and do not have good quality of life.

Collaborators who will aim to uncover most of the latest knowledge will assess diagnostic therapeutic and clinical trials carried out on patients with chronic pain in the UK and they will measure the impact of those treatments on pain behaviours. These blood and urine tests which were used to collect samples in the project will show a disease profile including physical processes such as pain behaviour pain medications and wound healing.

Tomas Kaleta Professor of Neurology at Kings College London will head the team. Dr. Kaleta is to perform this part of the study at the Institute of Psychiatry Psychology Neuroscience Kings College London in collaboration with several other small groups in Sweden and Finland as part of the international NIHR MAIN project.