[Peripheral mechanisms of joint pain with special focus on the synovial fibroblast]

Abstract

Joint pain is one of the most common forms of pain and is experienced by almost a third of the population at some time. To date, it has not been possible to treat joint pain effectively and side effects of commonly prescribed drugs are often hazardous. Therefore, improvements in our understanding of causes and mechanisms associated with joint pain are required. Joints and their neighbouring structures are well endowed with nerve fibres which respond to mechanical stimuli. Following local inflammation, the activation threshold of these afferent nerve fibres is significantly decreased, such that even low level stimuli encode nociception.Currently, there is a lack about local mechanisms in synovial tissue. Various receptors, well known from the nervous system, are increasingly being detected in synovial fibroblasts. However, little is known about their function. Innovative new therapies are expected to emerge by targeting various receptors, e.g. the TRPV1- or the P(2)X(4) receptor system.