Yale Finds Lacosamide Reverses Osteoarthritis Damage in Preclinical Study, With 4-Week Joint Injections Beating Daily Pills
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · Oct 8
Yale Finds Lacosamide Reverses Osteoarthritis Damage in Preclinical Study, With 4-Week Joint Injections Beating Daily Pills
2 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · Oct 8
Summary
Lacosamide, an FDA-approved epilepsy drug, reduced pain and reversed cartilage damage in preclinical osteoarthritis models, with the strongest results when delivered directly into joints.
Nav1.7, the sodium-channel protein the drug blocks, was found to drive both pain signaling and cartilage breakdown; at a low optimal dose, lacosamide pushed Chondrocytes toward repair instead of degeneration.
A Collagen II hydrogel kept the drug inside the joint for a month or longer, turning a cool liquid into a gel at body temperature and releasing lacosamide gradually over several weeks.
One injection every 4 weeks prevented cartilage loss more effectively than daily oral dosing, which spreads the drug through the body and raises the risk of off-target effects.
Because lacosamide is already FDA-approved, the Yale team said the approach could move into osteoarthritis clinical testing faster than a brand-new drug and potentially offer disease-modifying treatment rather than symptom relief alone.