Smart Drug Targets Arthritis Pain

A drug developed in Germany is reported to use the body’s natural ability to beat the pain that comes with arthritis, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine.

A team from Dusseldorf University developed chet-AMP, which is said to dramatically ease joint inflammation without harmful side-effects (including a drop in blood pressure) associated with current treatments.

Early studies show that it harnesses CD73, a molecule that the body uses to fight inflammation, and is activated when CD73-covered immune cells are present in inflamed joints; nearby tissues are unaffected.

“While this work is interesting, it is very early, experimental research in mice,” says Jane Tadman from Arthritis Research UK. “There is a long way to go before any claims that this is a new drug, without side-effects, can be substantiated.”