Unmet Need
Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that affects the fifth cranial nerve, caused either via trigeminal nerve compression or secondary to another medical condition (i.e., multiple sclerosis, facial injury, tumors, etc.). Trigeminal neuralgia results in severe orofacial pain that is exceptionally debilitating, with a profound effect on one’s quality of life (JHU, 2022). This condition affects approximately 13 per 100,000 people, and is one of the more frequently seen neuralgias in the older adult population, as incidence increases gradually with age (UpToDate, 2022).
First line treatment options for trigeminal neuralgia include anti-convulsants. For patients that fail to respond to first-line therapy, surgical referrals are recommended. Unfortunately, surgical interventions for medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia present the risk for anesthesia dolorosa—a condition more intolerable than the pain from classic trigeminal neuralgia itself. Additionally, significant side effects are associated with present pharmacological interventions. Therefore, there is a strong need for alternative pharmacological interventions to be developed to address the present, limited, and ineffective pharmacological treatment modalities for trigeminal neuralgia.
Technology Overview
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a treatment modality, that is neither an anti-epileptic, nor opiate to treat breakthrough pain in trigeminal neuralgia. The implications of these small molecules are significant, as they may prove to be more effective than first-line pharmacological interventions or effective for medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia. Furthermore, this technology could evade or limit potential exposure to chronic opioid use and misuse necessitated by pain.
Stage of Development
Experimental data is available.
Publications
1. Vasavda, C., Xu, R., Liew, J., Kothari, R., Dhindsa, R. S., Semenza, E. R., Paul, B. D., Green, D. P., Sabbagh, M. F., Shin, J. Y., Yang, W., Snowman, A. M., Albacarys, L. K., Moghekar, A., Pardo-Villamizar, C. A., Luciano, M., Huang, J., Bettegowda, C., Kwatra, S. G., Dong, X., … Snyder, S. H. (2022). Identification of the NRF2 transcriptional network as a therapeutic target for trigeminal neuropathic pain. Science advances, 8(31), eabo5633. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo5633
2. WO 2023/133502 – Treatment and prevention of trigeminal neuralgia
