Joint Action

Where does osteoarthritis pain come from? with Prof Anne-Marie Malfait

Aug 22, 2021

54:39

Managing osteoarthritis pain remains a challenge for patients and clinicians. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often used despite the potential risk associated with long-term use. In recent years, new advances have led to the exploration of central acting medications such as duloxetine for osteoarthritis pain. Despite this, those with OA continue to suffer from inadequate pain relief. By better understanding the pathways which influence pain, we may be able to better treat OA pain by identifying potential therapeutic targets. On this episode of Joint Action, we are joined by Anne-Marie Malfait to discuss where osteoarthritis pain comes from.

Anne Marie’s research focuses on pain osteoarthritis. She is the Professor of Internal Medicine and The George W. Stuppy, MD, Chair of Arthritis at Rush University in Chicago IL. Anne-Marie received her MD degree in 1989 and her PhD in 1994, both from Ghent University in Belgium. Her early research training focused on cartilage metabolism in osteoarthritis. Her postdoctoral training at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London focused on the role of cytokines in inflammatory arthritis. In 2001, she joined the pharmaceutical industry, joining a team for the development of disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs).

Since 2009, Anne Marie has been at Rush University, and established a research group studying pain in osteoarthritis, using animal models. Her group studies the relationship between joint damage and the neurobiological processes that underlie OA pain, with the long-term goal to develop more efficacious and safer analgesics and DMOADs.

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