This is Louise,
and she struggles to play with her kids.
Louise is one of 500 million patients
affected by osteoarthritis.
Louise thought osteoarthritis was nothing
but a “wear and tear” condition of the elderly,
but now knows that it is a highly complex
chronic disease of the entire joint
that leads to increased pain and reduced mobility.
Current treatments for osteoarthritis
often do not work very well
and result in expensive and invasive prosthesis surgery.
This is why the multidisciplinary experts
in the research project SINPAIN
are working on developing a game-changing
new treatment for osteoarthritis.
Their groundbreaking idea is to use
small interfering RNA molecules to target the cells
that are responsible for the inflammation and pain
in the knee affected by osteoarthritis.
These molecules are embedded
in a hyaluronic acid formulation
and administered locally
as an intra-articular injection.
To ensure that the method is safe and effective,
the researchers are using cartilage
from osteoarthritis patients to comprehend
the osteoarthritis environment
and thus the origin of pain and inflammation.
An artificial 3D model of an osteoarthritis joint
will be re-created in a unique bioreactor.
This approach will allow the researchers
to select the best RNA therapies
by testing them in a realistic environment.
Health datasets on osteoarthritis
are combined with specifically developed
advanced machine-learning techniques
to create a unique cartilage profile for each patient.
Doctors can use this information
to make better health decisions
and provide personalised treatments.
SINPAIN will help to improve our understanding
of the complex disease mechanisms behind osteoarthritis.
The novel SINPAIN technology
will be instrumental in relieving pain,
reducing inflammation,
regenerating damaged cartilage,
and ultimately, slowing disease progression
for Louise and countless other patients.
To learn more about our research,
please visit our website and follow us on our social media.