The influence of ivabradine on the symptoms of neuropathic pain IISNeP

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A randomised, blind, placebo controlled crossover study of the influence of the HCN channel-blocker ivabradine on the symptoms of neuropathic pain

• IRAS ID

  85726

• Sponsor organisation

  Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Eudract number

  2011-003933-32

• ISRCTN Number

  0

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  0

• Research summary

  Chronic pain can arise from direct damage to the nervous system, which is known as nerve or neuropathic pain. Examples include sciatica, and the pains caused by shingles or diabetes. Neuropathic pain is pernicious and treatments are often ineffective or limited by side effects.Laboratory-based investigations suggest that mice have been bred so that their pain transmitting nerves lack a certain gene that encodes a protein called HCN2 and do not develop neuropathic pain at all.The HCN channel controls the initiation of electrical impulses within cells, and is best known for its role in controlling the heartbeat. The HCN2 channel can be blocked by a drug called ivabradine. Large studies have shown that ivabradine is a useful treatment for angina and prevents heart attacks. It is licenced for this use in the UK. It is known to be safe and effective ?? but nobody has ever examined whether it might also reduce neuropathic pain.We wish to study whether ivabradine might flunce the transmission and thus symptoms of neuropathic pain. We will recruit willing healthy volunteers to take part in this randomised, blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. We will temporarily induce neuropathic pain in an area of the forearm using capsaicin (the chemical that makes chili peppers hot), and measure whether the symptoms are reduced if ivabradine has been taken beforehand. The symptoms can be measured with specialist nerve conduction tests. To avoid bias the volunteers will be blindfolded when they take the tablets with water, thereby making them unidentifiable. During the study the volunteers will only need to take one tablet on each of their visits and all measurements will be completed within 3 days.

• REC name

  North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  11/NW/0605

• Date of REC Opinion

  13 Sep 2011

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion