Identification of effective analgesics for Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (DEB)
Completed| Project lead | Dr Kenneth Pang |
| Organisation | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA |
| Project budget | AUD 39,528.00 |
| Start date / Duration | 01. Jan 2020 / 12 months |
| Funder(s) / Co-Funder(s) | DEBRA Australia |
| Research area | Symptom prevention & relief |
Project details
Short lay summary
Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (DEB) is frequently associated with significant pain. This pain is typically treated with a range of different analgesic medications, but unfortunately such analgesia can not only cause significant side effects but is often ineffective. In this project, we will use a novel pre-clinical model of DEB to objectively compare the pain-relieving effects of various known and novel drugs in an effort to identify more effective therapeutic strategies for treating DEB-associated pain.
Scientific summary
Pain is a major contributor to disease burden in EB. Although many different analgesics are used clinically, these are frequently ineffective and can be associated with significant side effects. In this project, we will systematically and objectively compare the effectiveness of these analgesics in a preclinical animal model of DEB that closely recapitulates the phenotype of patients with DEB, including pain hypersensitivity. In this way, the project will provide a better understanding of which analgesics are best suited to treating pain in EB and will represent an important advance in knowledge, enabling more rational selection and use of analgesics in EB patients in the future. In addition, by specifically investigating the analgesic effects of other agents known to impact on relevant pathophysiological processes such as inflammation and neuronal signalling, we will hopefully identify new options to treat DEB-associated pain.
Strategic relevance
In this project, we seek to objectively compare the effectiveness of various known and novel drugs in treating DEB-associated pain using a novel pre-clinical model of DEB. By doing so, we hope to directly inform analgesic prescribing in DEB, and thus improve the treatment of DEB-associated pain in the future.