Approximately, one in twenty individuals, or 3.5 million people, in the UK are disabled by visceral pain. ‘Visceral pain’ is the pain that originates from internal organs as indicated by some of the conditions below:
- Endometriosis – uterus
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – bowel
- Painful bladder syndrome – bladder
- Polycystic kidney disease – kidneys
The ADVANTAGE visceral pain consortium unites basic scientists, clinicians and patients with lived experience to increase understanding of visceral pain. We are addressing two main questions:
- Why is it that people with the same visceral condition can have different pain experiences?
- Can we identify specific treatments that will enable individuals to better manage their visceral pain?
Visceral pain produces a terrible burden for those who experience it. It can cause pain during the most intimate moments of their lives. It all too frequently triggers unpredictable episodes of pain, so-called “flares”, which can need hospital admission.
Working closely with our patient and charity advisory board, ADVANTAGE is recruiting individuals with pain originating from the bladder, gut, lung, kidney, pancreas, uterus and vagina, or in the pelvis. We are looking especially for people at the extremes: those with little pain despite clear disease, and those with severe pain despite few signs of disease. Steps to be taken include:
- Recording peoples’ pain using questionnaires and new automatic sensors to record activity and physiological changes throughout the day
- Studying their genetic and immune systems to identify risk factors and potential therapeutic interventions
- Determining how pain affects people’s psychological wellbeing.
- Examining differences between men and women so that any new treatment identified will benefit everyone equally.
Alongside working with individuals experiencing visceral pain, we are studying the mechanisms of visceral pain in mice so that we can:
- Develop a molecular fingerprint for sensory nerves supplying different internal organs that mediate pain.
- Determine how genetic and immune factors identified in humans with visceral pain might contribute to the pain experienced.
Our ultimate aim is to improve our understanding of visceral pain from the perspective of people living with visceral pain conditions. With this information, the NHS can develop and offer patients more effective treatments and support to address the diverse nature of their symptoms and help improve their quality of life.