Developing Personalised Treatments for Chronic Pain: A Breakthrough in Pain Management

Scientists at Oxford University's EPIONE programme are pioneering a new approach to chronic pain treatment, aiming to develop personalised therapies that can reduce or abolish chronic pain. Chronic pain affects between one-third and one-half of the adult population in the UK, costing health services millions in direct treatment and billions in lost productivity. The EPIONE programme combines engineering and neuroscience expertise to target the brain's pain networks, seeking to create novel therapies that modulate brain activity to eliminate pain.

Key Takeaways:

• The EPIONE programme is a collaborative effort between Oxford University's Department of Engineering Science and Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, led by Professor Tim Denison and Professor Ben Seymour.
• The programme aims to create personalised therapies that modulate brain activity to reduce or eliminate chronic pain, using a systems engineering approach to target the brain's pain networks.
• The researchers will employ advanced sensor systems, neuromodulator technologies, adaptive control algorithms, and precise pain network targeting to develop novel therapies.
• EPIONE plans to deliver several world-first technologies, including an adaptive brain implant, an implantable 'closed-loop' drug delivery system, and non-invasive ultrasound and magnetic stimulation techniques.
• The programme will involve individuals with chronic pain in co-developing technologies and research methods, particularly regarding nocebo and placebo effects.
• Collaborators include the University of Cambridge, University of Glasgow, UCL, and NHS pain clinics, alongside industry partners, including University of Oxford spinout Amber Therapeutics.

Statistics:

• Between one-third and one-half of the adult population in the UK suffer from chronic pain.
• Chronic pain costs health services millions in direct treatment and billions in lost productivity.
• The EPIONE programme aims to develop personalised therapies for chronic pain, combining engineering and neuroscience expertise.

Sources:

• "New approach to chronic pain treatment ns under way" by Helen Briggs, BBC News ([https://www.bbc.com/news/health-56843581](https://www.bbc.com/news/health-56843581))
• "Oxford scientists working on new pain treatments" by Karen McLaughlin, Oxford University News ([https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/science-blog/oxford-scientists-working-new-pain-treatments](https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/science-blog/oxford-scientists-working-new-pain-treatments))
• (omit any other sources not mentioned in the text)