Arthritis & Chronic Pain Research Institute

ARTHRITIS & CHRONIC PAIN RESEARCH INSTITUTE IS A NONPROFIT PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION AND IS NOT ORGANIZED FOR THE PRIVATE GAIN OF ANY PERSON. THE ORGANIZATION OPERATES FOR THE BENEFIT OF TORREY PINES INSTITUTE FOR MOLECULAR STUDIES, INC., BY PROVIDING FINANCIAL AND

ACPRI MAKES GRANTS FOR SCIENTISTS TO CONTINUE RESEARCH TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF CHRONIC PAIN AND POSSIBLE THERAPIES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN. ONE AREA OF FOCUS IS TO FIND PAIN RELIEF TREATMENTS BY LOOKING FOR COMPOUNDS WHICH BIND TO THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PAIN RECEPTORS IN THE BRAIN. THESE DIFFERENT PAIN RECEPTORS ARE EACH ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAIN RELIEF, AS WELL AS DIFFERENT SIDE EFFECTS (I.E., RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION OR PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE). OVER THE PAST DECADE, THIS RESEARCH HAS RESULTED IN THE DISCOVERY OF SEVERAL COMPOUNDS WHICH ARE SPECIFICALLY ACTIVE AT ONE TYPE OF PAIN RECEPTOR. ANOTHER AREA OF STUDY IS RELATED TO CERTAIN PROTEINS IN THE BLOODSTREAM THAT, WHEN UNREGULATED CAN CAUSE PAINFUL MEDICAL CONDITIONS SUCH AS RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. OTHER AREAS OF RESEARCH EMPHASIS ARE RELATED SPECIFICALLY TO CHRONIC PAIN CAUSED BY A VARIETY OF CANCERS. OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, ACPRI HAS SUPPORTED SCIENTISTS' RESEARCH AND TRAVEL TO PRESENT THEIR WORK TO THEIR PEERS AND STUDENTS. WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, SCIENTISTS AND STUDENTS FROM NEARLY HALF THE STATES HAVE BENEFITED AS A RESULT OF THE SHARING OF THIS WORK. ACPRI PROVIDES A NATIONAL TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTES A NEWSLETTER DESCRIBING ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED AND GOES INTO THE COMMUNITY TO SPEAK WITH PEOPLE ABOUT PAIN MANAGEMENT AND TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS.