Chronic pain syndromes such as small fiber neuropathy (SFN) present a challenge, as their treatment remains symptomatic and often unsuccessful. In a "proof of concept" study, which we performed with Beate Winner from the FAU Erlangen-Nurnberg, we were able to identify an effective therapy for an SFN patient. We used the patient’s own stem cell-derived neurons to test an approved drug. The therapy thus identified considerably reduced the intense ongoing pain from which the patient suffered for about 10 years. With the help of microneurography, Barbara Namer (currently FAU Erlangen, starting in 2019 an IZKF Junior Research Group at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen) also objectively noted a reduction in activity in the peripheral nerves. The results appear in EBioMedicine, the prestigious journal for translational research published by The Lancet.
Please find further information in our press release.
The study "Pain relief in a neuropathy patient by lacosamide: Proof of principle of clinical translation from patient-specific iPS cell-derived nociceptors" has also been published online.
