Osteoarthritis pain: mechanisms and pharmacology

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is a complex peripheral joint disorder. This degenerative disease involving several joint tissues is characterized by damages to the articular cartilage. Pain is the primary symptom of OA and is the driving factor for patients to seek medical help. OA-associated pain is described as dull, aching pain that persists over time, but short episodes of more intense pain, known as flares, are also experience by many individuals. OA therapies focus on symptom relief and conventional pharmacological treatments show varying efficacy in patients and have inadequate safety profiles, making treatment of OA patients challenging. Rodent models of OA have been developed using different approaches (chemical, surgical and genetic) to reproduce the clinical symptoms in the patients.

Laurent DIOP
Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Diop earned his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and has held senior leadership positions within various pharmaceutical companies (Jouveinal, Parke-Davis, Pfizer) where he actively contributed to drug development projects in digestive motility and visceral pain. In particular, he led R&D programs designed to evaluate the efficacy of new compounds for the treatment of IBS and IBD. He has co-authored 6 patents, 41 research articles, 3 book chapters and over 70 published abstracts.

 

Don’t miss the webinar discussing clinical symptoms of OA and the mechanisms involved in this disease. We will focus on pharmacological approach in the drug discovery models and possible future treatments.