Injectable hydrogel relieves osteoarthritis pain and repairs cartilage in preclinical tests
Medical Xpress • • health
Key Points:
- A Yale study discovered that lacosamide, an existing epilepsy drug, can both relieve joint pain and reverse cartilage damage in osteoarthritis when delivered directly into the joint via a specialized hydrogel.
- The research identified the Nav1.7 sodium channel as a dual-purpose target in cartilage cells, whose overactivity in osteoarthritis contributes to both pain and cartilage breakdown.
- Lacosamide works best at low doses by promoting cartilage repair proteins and reducing tissue degradation, partly through stimulating protective signaling proteins HSP70 and midkine.
- To enhance treatment efficacy and reduce side effects, researchers developed a thermoresponsive collagen II hydrogel that slowly releases lacosamide within the joint over weeks, outperforming daily oral pills in preclinical trials.
- Since lacosamide is already FDA-approved for other uses, clinical testing for osteoarthritis could proceed rapidly, potentially offering a disease-modifying therapy that goes beyond symptom management.