Pharmacology of Pain Management (Preclinical and Clinical Studies)

Abstract 

This refresher course will begin with a review by Dr. Fairbanks of the major analgesic drug classes (e.g., opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acetaminophen, anticonvulsants and antidepressants), including an overview of their mechanisms  

of action, clinical applications and limitations. The remainder of the session will then focus on two rapidly evolving approaches to pharmacological pain management: subtype-selective sodium channel blockers and cannabinoids.  

Dr. Lampert will cover the basic physiology of sodium channel function, the main NaV sodium channel subtypes important for peripheral sensory neurons, what we know from genetic disease and how different subtypes convey specific function to sensory neuron subtypes. She will then address how blocking NaVs have been used in acute pain treatment for decades and why the development of the new NaV1.8 blocker Suzetrigine is so important, as it opens the avenue for a new class of therapeutics.  

Faculty list with each individual talk title

Dr. Starowicz-Bubak will begin with an update on our current understanding of endogenous and exogenous cannabinoid pharmacology. She will then highlight her work on the role of the endocannabinoid system in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritic joint pain. 

Dr. Busse will provide a synthesis of the current clinical evidence and share updated guidelines for the use of cannabis in chronic pain.  

Dr. Carolyn Fairbanks, Professor, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. 

Title: Major analgesic drug classes and mechanisms of action 

Dr. Angelika Lampert, Professor, Aachen University & Director of the Institute of Neurophysiology, Aachen, Germany. 

Title: Sodium channel blockers – what we know and where we are going 

Dr. Katarzyna Starowicz – Bubak Professor & Director, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland 

Title: Endogenous and exogenous cannabinoid pharmacology 

Dr. Jason Busse, Professor, Department of Anesthesia, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University & Associate Director of the DeGroote Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. 

Title: Cannabis for Chronic Pain – current evidence and guidelines.