RSDSA | Activated Glia: Targets for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain

With Support From:

MediciNova Logo

MediciNova, Inc.

Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Purdue Pharma LP

Organizers
Mark S. Cooper (U. Washington)
Donald C. Manning (Shionogi USA, Inc.)
Kirk W. Johnson (MediciNova, Inc.)

Location
Four Points by Sheraton, Chicago O'Hare Airport Hotel
(Map and Directions)

Workshop is by invitation only. Please contact Debra Nelson-Hogan (Tel: 212.532.4794, Email: dhogan@seersha.com) for registration information.

As activated glia have been correlated with a number of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders, the RSDSA will bring together basic researchers and clinicians to jointly evaluate the development of glial attenuators for the treatment of neuropathic pain disorders, including complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS),¹ and other chronic illnesses.

Researchers and clinicians can play pivotal roles in determining the direction that research should take on this topic. The meeting will provide a forum whereby the role of activated glia—including specific cell types and molecular mechanisms—can be critically reviewed and discussed. The meeting will also discuss the development of differential diagnostic tools, such as PET and MRI contrast enhancement techniques, to detect and/or visualize the presence of activated glia in patients with chronic pain in the central nervous system.

1. Del Valle L, Schwartzman RJ, Alexander G. Spinal cord histopathological alterations in a patient with longstanding complex regional pain syndrome. Brain Behav Immun. 2009;23:85-91.

Brain resident microglial cells are normally highly motile and rapidly respond to neural tissue injury. Here, a multiphoton laser microscope was used to collect fluorescent images of microglia (green) in a live brain tissue slice harvested from a neonatal mouse. The tissue was taken from a genetically altered mouse that expresses green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the microglial cells, thereby rendering the cells fluorescent. In normal brain, microglial cells actively survey the brain tissue environment by extending and retracting branches in random directions. This motile activity is captured here during a 16 minute baseline period. Subsequently, a brief pulse of high-intensity laser light was used to induce localized tissue damage along a line between the white arrowheads (white bar at 00:17). Cells injured by the laser become labeled with a red dye (Sytox Orange), which binds to DNA in the nucleus of injured cells. Within minutes after injury, nearby microglia undergo a process termed 'activation' which involves extension of branches preferentially towards the injured cells. Microglial cells then begin to migrate toward and accumulate at the injury site. The chemotaxic movement of microglial cells likely results from release of ATP from injured cells. Total sequence time is ~2 hr. Time is shown in hr:min. (Courtesy Michael Dailey, University of Iowa)

Workshop Agenda

Thursday

7:00-9:00 pm

Opening Reception

Friday

8-8:30 am	Workshop Overview and Perspectives	Don Manning, MD, PhD Shionogi USA View Papers

	Pharmacotherapy: Progress and Challenges Moderator: Kirk Johnson, PhD

8:30-9:10 am	A critical assessment of glial activation in pain regulation	Joyce DeLeo, PhD Dartmouth Medical School View Papers

9:10-9:30 am	Question and Answer Session

9:30-10:10 am	Ibudilast in Pain and Other Neurological Disorders	Kirk Johnson, PhD MediciNova View Papers

10:10-10:30 am	Question and Answer Session

10:30-10:45 am	Break

10:45-11:25 am	Controlling neuroinflammation by targeting specific glial receptors: implications for pain and beyond	Linda Watkins, PhD University of Colorado View Papers

11:25-11:45 am	Question and Answer Session

11:45 am-1:00 pm	Lunch and Networking

11:45 am	Common Inflammatory Mechanisms in MS and CRPS (RSD)	Robert Knobler, MD

12:00 pm	Nerve Injury, Neuroinflammation, and Cervical Dystonia	Ken Price President, National Spasmodic Torticollis Association


	Activated Glia in Supraspinal Sites Moderator: Joshua Prager, MD, MS

1:00-1:40 pm	Activated Microglia and the 18kD Translocator protein	Richard Banati, MD, PhD University of Sydney View Papers

1:40-2:00 pm	Question and Answer Session

2:00-2:30 pm	Using Positron Emission Tomography to image activated glia in the brain	Diana Martinez, MD Columbia University View Papers

2:30-2:45 pm	Question and Answer Session

2:45-3:15 pm	Potential Roles of Activated Supraspinal Glia in the Modulation of Neuropathic Pain	Michael Ossipov, PhD University of Arizona View Papers

3:15-3:35 pm	Question and Answer Session

3:35-3:50 pm	Break

	Imaging Activated Microglia Moderator: Michael Dailey, PhD

3:50-4:20 pm	Imaging Microglia Activation in Live Tissues	Michael Dailey, PhD University of Iowa View Papers

4:20-4:35 pm	Question and Answer Session

4:35-5:05 pm	Pharmacological validation of two molecular imaging agents targeting proteins expressed by microglia	Nephi Stella, PhD University of Washington View Papers

5:05-5:20 pm	Question and Answer Session

5:20-5:50 pm	Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Neuroimaging	Miqin Zhang, PhD University of Washington View Papers

5:50-6:15 pm	Question and Answer Session

6:45-9:30 pm	Dinner and Networking Keynote Address Clinical Trials and Neuropathic Pain: Do Mechanistic Approaches Offer Hope?	A bus will transport attendees to Basilico’s Ristorante nearby James Campbell, MD Johns Hopkins University View Papers

Saturday

	Linking Glial Activation with Pathophysiology Moderator: R. Norman Harden, MD

8:00-8:30 am	CRPS: Signs, Symptoms, Tests and their Hypothetical Link to Glial Activation	R. Norman Harden, MD Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Center for Pain Management View Papers

8:30-8:45 am	Question and Answer Session

8:45-9:15 am	Fighting Activated Glia and Closing Opened Pain Gates by Increasing Spinal Inhibition	Theodore Price, PhD University of Arizona View Papers

9:15-9:30 am	Question and Answer Session

9:30-10:00 am	Beneficial and Pathological Microglial Phenotypes in Neuroinflammatory Disorders	Thomas Möller, PhD University of Washington View Papers

10:00-10:15 am	Question and Answer Session

10:15-10:45 am	Break and Networking

	Building Knowledge Consortia to Address Neuropathic Pain Moderator: Mark S. Cooper, PhD

11:00-11:30 am	The TREND Knowledge Consortium: Perspectives on Activated Glial Research in CRPS I	Roberto S. G. M. Perez, PhD VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Steering Committee Member of TREND View Papers

12:00- 1:00 pm	Lunch

1:00-3:00 pm	Work Groups	Moderators: Mark S. Cooper, PhD, and Peter Moskovitz, MD