Lumen Summer 2016 - Flipbook - Page 21
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Finding a cure for chronic pain
C
hronic pain is a debilitating condition
that brings misery to the lives of
millions of people around the world.
It’s the fourth most common health
complaint and has the single biggest
impact on society. Yet the medical
science community knows surprisingly
little about the causes and treatment
regimes are fickle at best.
That could be about to change with
breakthrough research by the
University of Adelaide’s Professor
Mark Hutchinson. An award-winning
neuroscientist, Mark has been working on
a radical new approach linking chronic
pain with glia, the immune cells which
support the brain’s nervous system.
This is a major departure from the
common belief that nerves control all
pain. The discovery helps explain why
traditional drugs such as morphine and
codeine are often ineffective with
Mark’s research demonstrating they
can make the condition worse.
“All existing pain-relief treatments
target the nerves or wiring of the pain
system but in chronic pain the treatment
is hit and miss and there are a range of
side effects,” says Mark. “The research
I’ve been doing indicates that the
immune system is to blame.”
The 2015 James McWha Award
recipient has been carefully building his
case since graduating from the University
of Adelaide with honours in science in
1999 followed by a PhD in 2004.
Mark undertook postdoctoral
training at the world-renowned Centre
for Neuroscience at the University of
Colorado before returning to Adelaide
to run his own laboratory – the
Neuroimmunopharmacology Lab in
the School of Medical Sciences.
His ultimate goal is to develop
a diagnostic blood test to identify
people with an over-sensitive immune
reaction to pain and to find treatments
to prevent and cure the condition.
Happily, giant strides are being
made and it is a key area of study
for the recently established Australian
Research Council Centre of Excellence
for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, which
Mark heads up as Director.
The centre, bringing together the support
of a multi-talented transdisciplinary
research team of physicists, chemists,
biologists, mathematicians and
engineers means anything is possible.
Indeed, it’s not only chronic pain being
investigated by Mark and the team, but
also molecular processes surrounding
fertility and heart disease.
With $38 million in funding spread
over seven years, the centre is
focused on driving new approaches
to understand cellular processes
story by Ian Williams
within the human body.
Headquartered at the University
of Adelaide, it brings together scientists
from Macquarie and RMIT universities
as well as research partners in Europe,
the US and China.
About 50 scientists and PhD
students are directly involved
with the centre in Adelaide.
“We’re pushing the boundaries of
science and trying to create new windows
into the human body,” says Mark.
“The frustration we’ve had in the past
as scientists is that we haven’t had the
tools to examine cells how we would like,
or to measure certain chemicals, proteins
and molecular signals. The centre is all
about trying to create these new tools.”
Mark is hoping this hugely expanded
research capability will help him in his
quest to identify the molecular signatures
of what pain actually looks like.
This will be a major step towards
delivering a chronic pain blood test
and that elusive cure.
The University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 19
