MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (10/2/2024) — The University of Minnesota Medical School recently received a five-year, $3.2 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for a project that will study the epigenetic factors of low back pain. Low back pain affects 619 million people globally and is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization . This chronic pain impacts people of all ages and can affect quality of life and mental well-being.
Epigenetics refers to biological processes that affect how genes work without altering the DNA itself. These changes can happen due to lifestyle factors like diet and exercise, as well as environmental influences like stress and aging. Despite early progress in this expanding field, the role of epigenetics in the causes that drive chronic pain remains largely unknown and treatment options are limited.
“Current treatments for individuals suffering with chronic back pain typically provide inadequate relief, require exposure to harmful drugs — like opioids — or invasive surgery,” said Laura Stone, PhD , professor at the U of M Medical School. “This project will explore a completely new approach to understanding and treating back pain. We hope to harness epigenetic mechanisms that are already used by the body to prevent or reverse chronic pain.”
Low back pain can develop from degeneration or herniation of the intervertebral discs in the spine. Disc degeneration is caused by pathological changes in gene expression that can lead to structural breakdown, inflammation and increases in nerve activity that signals pain into the nervous system.
This project aims to determine the role of epigenetic reprogramming in disc degeneration and chronic back pain to identify new treatments that target these issues. Rather than examining just one gene, the research team will use advanced technology available at the U of M Genomics Center to determine the role of all genes in this process. This information will help the research team identify and then test better ways to treat back pain.
The project officially began in early September.
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Co-investigators on this grant include Drs. Scott Thompson, Peter Lee and Arin Ellington in the Medical School; Dr. Chris Faulk in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences; and Dr. Casey Johnson in the College of Veterinary Medicine
About the University of Minnesota Medical School
The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. For more information about the U of M Medical School, please visit med.umn.edu .