What is it about?
We inhibited a receptor found on blood vessels that controls blood vessel function. This caused a decrease in the pain experienced in a model of rheumatoid arthritis and the spread of pain. Our results indicate that the blood vessels in the spinal cord are responsible for driving the spread of pain.
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Why is it important?
Inhibitors of this blood vessel molecule are already in the clinic, used for other diseases that rely on active blood vessels (cancers and pathological conditions in the eye). Our results indicate that these inhibitors could be repurposed for rheumatoid arthritis and other painful inflammatory conditions.
Perspectives
The importance of normal functioning blood vessels is becoming apparent in many neurological conditions. It may be that blood vessel dysfunction also contributes to the spread of pain and ultimately the development of chronic pain.
Nicholas Beazley-Long
University of Nottingham
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: VEGFR2 promotes central endothelial activation and the spread of pain in inflammatory arthritis, Brain Behavior and Immunity, March 2018, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2018.03.012.
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