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By Steven Reinberg<\/b>
HealthDay Reporter<\/i><\/p>\n
MONDAY, June 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A new nonopioid pain reliever<\/a> could be welcome news for people who have difficult-to-treat back pain<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tanezumab is what’s called a monoclonal antibody. And it might offer extended relief from chronic lower back pain<\/a>, a large, new study finds. However, a serious side effect remains a concern.<\/p>\n Tanezumab works differently from other treatments, as it blocks nerve growth factor, a protein that causes pain<\/a>, researchers say.<\/p>\n “It appears that we are on the cusp of developing new drugs<\/a>, which treat chronic pain<\/a> by turning down the sensitivity of the nervous system, which is a whole new way of approaching the problem of chronic pain<\/a>,” said lead researcher Dr. John Markman. He’s a professor of neurosurgery and neurology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York.<\/p>\n “This is very important because we haven’t really had drugs<\/a> with a new way of affecting chronic pain<\/a> developed in maybe 100 years,” Markman said.<\/p>\n This phase 3 trial was funded by drugmakers Pfizer and Eli Lilly and Co. Twelve-hundred patients were randomly assigned to one of two doses of tanezumab or placebo. Another 600 patients received the opioid tramadol<\/a>.<\/p>\n The higher dose of tanezumab reduced pain<\/a> and also improved function, the researchers said.<\/p>\n Currently, opioid painkillers or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs<\/a>) such as aspirin<\/a> and ibuprofen<\/a> are the only medications for chronic lower back pain<\/a>. But opioids can be addictive, and NSAIDs<\/a> can cause serious gastrointestinal bleeding.<\/p>\n If these drugs don’t work, the alternative is spinal fusion<\/a> surgery, and that’s not always effective, Markman said.<\/p>\n Tanezumab is given by injection about every two months. It has none of the side effects of opioids or NSAIDs.<\/p>\n It does, however, have one very serious side effect that affects up to more than 2% of patients. The drug has been linked to joint deterioration that may require joint replacement.<\/p>\n This concern is the major focus of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s current review of the drug as a treatment for chronic pain<\/a> from severe osteoarthritis<\/a>, Markman said.<\/p>\n The current study was done in 191 sites in eight countries in North America, Europe and Asia. It involved patients who did not get pain<\/a> relief after trying at least three different pain<\/a> drugs, including opioids.<\/p>\n Patients underwent treatment for a little over a year. At four months, patients taking 10 milligrams of tanezumab reported significantly more pain relief than those using the placebo.<\/p>\n Also, after four months, more patients taking the experimental drug reported pain relief than those taking tramadol<\/a>.<\/p>\n Markman said the drug “is very promising and really represents a step forward.”<\/p>\n Lower back pain<\/a> affects 80% of Americans, and in as many as 20% of cases can become chronic and debilitating and disruptive, said Dr. Yili Huang, director of pain management<\/a> at Northwell Health Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.<\/p>\n “Any potentially effective new treatment is truly exciting,” said Huang, who was not involved in the study.<\/p>\n Many of the currently available treatments for chronic lower back pain<\/a> act on the same anti-inflammatory or opioid receptors, he said. “Treating a new target along the pain pathway can open the door to potentially safer and more effective treatments,” Huang noted.<\/p>\n Medical treatment of lower back pain<\/a> is becoming increasingly challenging as many medications may have dangerous long-term side effects that can lead to cardiovascular disease<\/a>, addiction<\/a>, and kidney and liver disease<\/a>, Huang said.<\/p>\n
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