Inaugural lecture Dr. Laura B. Creemers

"Treat where it hurts; the future of local pain interventions"

One in four people in the Netherlands lives with chronic pain, caused by nerve damage or by other processes in the body that lead to hypersensitivity of our central nervous system. Although many new medications are being developed, treatment remains inadequate or, as with opioids, results in many and unacceptable side effects.

In my lecture, I will explain how my research on tissue repair in osteoarthritis and chronic low back pain led me to my current focus on pain treatment. Because medications taken orally often do not reach the site where they are needed and instead end up in places where they cause harm, a promising technology is the use of local controlled drug delivery. This involves injecting medications, loaded in biodegradable biomaterials, directly at the diseased site, after which they are released over a longer period of time. I will outline which delivery routes and which medications are promising for this approach in the treatment of pain, as well as what further optimization is required.

Click here for the live stream.