New research aims to switch off chronic pain at its source

A major new Adelaide University research program will strive to improve the lives of millions by developing targeted therapies for chronic visceral pain, a debilitating primary symptom associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and endometriosis.

The five-year research program is funded by a prestigious National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant awarded to Professor Stuart Brierley, Director of the Visceral Pain Research Group, Director of the Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology and Co-Theme Leader of Lifelong Health at SAHMRI and Professor at Adelaide University's College of Health. It will investigate how hypersensitive nerve pathways drive pain originating from internal organs and test innovative therapies designed to interrupt those signals before they reach the brain and spinal cord.

The project brings leading international researchers and industry partners together with people who have lived experience of chronic visceral pain, with the aim of accelerating the development of new treatment options for patients.

Chronic visceral pain affects one in five Australians and remains one of the most poorly understood and difficult-to-treat forms of chronic pain.

Prof Brierley says people living with chronic visceral pain are desperate for more effective treatments that go beyond being a band-aid solution.

People living with chronic visceral pain consistently tell us they need therapies that target the underlying cause of their pain, rather than simply masking symptoms, Our goal is to stop chronic visceral pain at its source by targeting the nerves responsible for generating and transmitting pain signals. If we can pinpoint exactly how these pain pathways become overactive, we can develop new methods to switch them off."

Stuart Brierley, Professor, College of Health, Adelaide University

The program will use clinically validated models of IBS, IBD and endometriosis alongside patient-derived laboratory models to better understand the biological mechanisms responsible for persistent pain and identify new therapeutic targets.

Researchers will investigate a range of novel approaches, including venom-derived peptides and engineered proteins designed to selectively target pain-signaling pathways.

The program builds on more than a decade of research by Prof Brierley and his colleagues, whose discoveries have advanced understanding of how pain signals travel between the gut and the brain and helped pave the way for new treatment approaches.

"Chronic visceral pain can have a profound impact on people's quality of life, affecting their physical health, mental wellbeing and ability to participate fully in everyday activities," Prof Brierley said.

"We’ve done a lot of the groundwork in recent years laying the foundation to now take this next step, which we hope will eventually result in lasting relief and better quality of life for people all over the world.”