Aditi Bhargava, PhD, associate professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, is using a technique known as RNA interference to develop a gene therapy system that commands neurons to “turn off” pain and inflammation.
“We want to target the small or medium neurons that sense pain, while leaving other neurons unaffected, ” said Dr. Bhargava. “I believe that this project has tremendous translational potential to turn what we learn into concrete benefits for patients.”
Targeted pain and inflammation relief can also be used to treat illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease. The approach has potential to minimize side effects and save costs, as it sends very small amounts of drug therapies to the targeted cells, said Dr. Bhargava.
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