Yale researchers reported that lacosamide reduced osteoarthritis pain and reversed cartilage damage in preclinical studies, with the strongest results when injected into joints in a specialized hydrogel.
Nav1.7, a sodium channel overactive in osteoarthritis, appears to drive both pain signaling and cartilage breakdown; blocking it let chondrocytes shift from degeneration toward repair.
Low-dose lacosamide worked best in a narrow dosing range and also boosted protective proteins HSP70 and midkine, which support tissue repair and limit inflammation.
One knee injection every 4 weeks outperformed daily oral dosing because the Collagen II thermoresponsive hydrogel kept the drug in the joint and released it over weeks.
Because lacosamide is already FDA-approved, the team said the approach could reach osteoarthritis clinical trials faster than a newly invented drug.