PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New drug treatment reduces chronic pain following shingles

2014-02-05
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Sam Wong
sam.wong@imperial.ac.uk
44-207-594-2198
Imperial College London
New drug treatment reduces chronic pain following shingles A new drug treatment has been found to be effective against chronic pain caused by nerve damage, also known as neuropathic pain, in patients who have had shingles.

The researchers hope that the drug might also be effective against other causes of chronic neuropathic pain, such as diabetes, HIV, nerve injury and cancer chemotherapy, as it targets a mechanism that is not targeted by any existing therapies and has fewer side effects.

Drugs available now have limited success at treating neuropathic pain and often have unpleasant or disabling side effects.

It is estimated that around 190,000 people in the UK get shingles every year, most of them aged over 50. It is caused when a dormant viral infection of a nerve is reactivated, resulting in a painful rash. In most cases, the shingles rash lasts a few weeks, but in some cases the permanent nerve damage caused by the virus results in a chronic neuropathic pain called post-herpetic neuralgia. Around one in 10 people with shingles experiences post-herpetic neuralgia and, once established, it usually causes life-long suffering.

In a study involving 183 patients with post-herpetic neuralgia in six countries, the new drug EMA401 was found to reduce pain and did not cause any serious side effects. The findings are published in The Lancet.

Lead author Professor Andrew Rice, from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London, said: "Conventional painkillers don't tend to help people with severe chronic neuropathic pain and most available treatments have modest efficacy and/or are limited by side effects. We are therefore keen to find new ways of providing these people with some relief.

"A positive trial like this in such a challenging condition as post-herpetic neuralgia, for a drug that acts in a new way, is unusual and very exciting. We hope that the new drug will ultimately offer hope for patients who aren't helped by current treatments."

The study, a phase 2 trial, compared EMA401 with a placebo, with participants taking two pills a day for four weeks. Fifty-eight per cent of participants taking the drug found it effective, reducing pain by at least 30 per cent.

Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, which owns the drug, now plans to conduct a larger trial, possibly testing higher doses of the drug for longer periods of time. "We are looking forward to seeing how EMA401 performs in a larger trial in people with post-herpetic neuralgia, where we will explore higher doses, and in trials where we will analyse its efficacy in other chronic pain conditions. Identifying the characteristics of the patients who do get good pain relief from EMA401 will also be an important avenue for research," added Professor Rice.

Tom McCarthy, CEO of Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, said: "There is a clear need for new treatments that bring patients pain relief with fewer side effects. In addition to post-herpetic neuralgia, we see broad potential for EMA401 to treat a range of chronic painful conditions such as pain due to osteoarthritis and diabetes. We look forward to delivering on the further development of EMA401."

Spinifex's clinical program for EMA401 includes a clinical trial in the treatment of neuropathic pain in patients after cancer chemotherapy, which is being conducted by Professor Praveen Anand at Imperial College London. Professor Anand's group also conducted key clinical tissue research which led up to the trials.

Professor Rice works with patients with neuropathic pain at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where he is a Consultant in Pain Medicine. He has worked with Spinifex through Imperial Consultants on the pre-clinical development of the new drug since 2005.

### For more information please contact:

Sam Wong
Research Media Officer
Imperial College London
Email: sam.wong@imperial.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)20 7594 2198
Out of hours duty press officer: +44(0)7803 886 248

Notes to editors

1. A.S.C. Rice et al. 'EMA401, an orally administered highly selective angiotensin II type 2 receptor antagonist, as a novel treatment for postherpetic neuralgia: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 clinical trial.' The Lancet, 5 February 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62337-5

2. About neuropathic pain Neuropathic pain is a type of pain associated with nerve damage. Neuropathic pain can affect people with a wide range of diseases, including: diabetes, HIV infection, nerve and spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke and cancer. Neuropathic pain can also complicate treatments such as surgery and therapies for cancer and HIV.

3. About Imperial College London

Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 14,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

Since its foundation in 1907, Imperial's contributions to society have included the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of research for the benefit of all continues today, with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to improve global health, tackle climate change, develop sustainable sources of energy and address security challenges.

In 2007, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust formed the UK's first Academic Health Science Centre. This unique partnership aims to improve the quality of life of patients and populations by taking new discoveries and translating them into new therapies as quickly as possible.

Website: http://www.imperial.ac.uk

4. About Imperial Consultants

Imperial Consultants was established in 1990 and is the UK's leading university-owned consultancy company. As a self-funding, wholly owned company of Imperial College London, it provides practical and innovative solutions for external organisations' by drawing on any one or a combination of the cutting edge expertise of Imperial's academics (consultancy), use of Imperial's world class equipment and facilities and Imperial Consultants' collaborative project management team (for collaborative tenders or research projects, funded by the EU or other sources).

Website: http://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

'Severe reduction' in killer whale numbers during last Ice Age

2014-02-05
Whole genome sequencing has revealed a global fall in the numbers of killer whales during the last Ice Age, at a time when ocean productivity may have been widely reduced, according to researchers ...

How states can encourage web-based health care in hospitals

2014-02-05
ANN ARBOR—In the first national look at how broadly web-based technologies are being used to provide health care, a University of Michigan researcher has found that 42 percent of U.S. hospitals use some ...

Study finds dramatic rise in skin cancer among middle-aged adults

2014-02-05
ROCHESTER, Minn — Feb. 3, 2014 — A new Mayo Clinic study found that among middle-aged men and women, 40 to 60 years old, the overall incidence of skin cancer increased nearly eightfold between 1970 and 2009, ...

Off-the-shelf materials lead to self-healing polymers

2014-02-05
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Look out, super glue and paint thinner. Thanks to new dynamic materials developed at the University of Illinois, removable paint and self-healing plastics soon could be household ...

Personal experience, work seniority improve mental health professionals' outlook

2014-02-05
One might think that after years of seeing people at their worst, mental health workers would harbor negative attitudes about mental illness, perhaps associating people with mental health ...

Telemedicine can reduce hospitalizations for nursing home residents

2014-02-05
LEBANON, NH (Feb. 4, 2014) – Telemedicine used at nursing homes during hours when doctors are not typically present is a viable way to reduce avoidable ...

New study shows core factors and strategies to turn primary care practices into PCMHs

2014-02-05
BOSTON – (February 4, 2014) – A new study conducted by Robert A. Gabbay, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, Senior Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer at Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard ...

NASA satellite catches Australia's newborn Tropical Storm Edna and stubborn Fletcher

2014-02-05
Northeastern Australia has been watching two tropical low pressure areas over the last several days, and NASA's Aqua satellite captured both in one infrared image. Tropical Storm Edna ...

Fruit flies -- fermented-fruit connoisseurs -- are relentless party crashers

2014-02-05
That fruit fly joining you just moments after you poured that first glass of cabernet, has just used its poppy-seed-sized brain to conduct a finely-choreographed search, one that's been described ...

Taking statins to lower cholesterol? New guidelines

2014-02-05
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Feb. 4, 2014 — Clinicians and patients should use shared decision-making to select individualized treatments based on the new guidelines to prevent cardiovascular disease, according to a commentary ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

Mission accomplished for the “T2T” Hong Kong Bauhinia Genome Project

[Press-News.org] New drug treatment reduces chronic pain following shingles