EVALUATION OF TACAN AS A NEW TARGET FOR TREATING OSTEOARTHRITIS PAIN

Abstract

Purpose: Chronic pain is the most common symptom associated with osteoarthritis (OA), a chronic debilitating disease affecting nearly 250 million people worldwide. The treatment of OA pain is currently inadequate because the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Patients suffering from OA experience mechanical allodynia, a painful response to innocuous stimuli such as movements in the working range of the joint or gentle pressure such as palpation. The mechanisms underlying mechanical allodynia in OA are due in large part to a dysfunction in pain-sensing nerves, called nociceptors.