# Mechanisms of Oxytocins Analgesia in Older Adults

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2021 · $327,875

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Osteoarthritis (OA) represents a significant cause of disability worldwide in individuals aged 65 and older, a
rapidly growing segment of our population. The knee is the most commonly affected joint with pain being the
primary symptom, negatively impacting physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Symptomatic knee OA
has been traditionally attributed to peripheral mechanisms, but measures of joint damage only modestly account
for the presence or severity of OA-related pain. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been recognized as a
mediator of endogenous analgesia in animal and human studies. However, little is known about the
neurobiological mechanisms underlying OT's pain-relieving properties. This proposal is based on a mechanistic
model of OT's analgesic effects leveraging pilot data supporting efficacy and safety of self-administered
intranasal OT over 4-weeks in older individuals. Relative to placebo (P), daily administration of intranasal OT
diminished self-reported pain intensity, reduced experimental pain sensitivity, and increased self-reported
physical and emotional functioning. Further, participants treated with OT, compared to P, showed decreases in
brain metabolite concentrations associated with inflammation. Thus, our overarching goal is to evaluate the
effects of intranasal OT on pain and function in aging and to determine the extent to which central and peripheral
inflammatory mechanisms contribute to these analgesic responses. We aim to 1) determine the effect of
intranasal OT administration on clinical and experimental pain sensitivity in older adults with symptomatic knee
OA and 2) characterize inflammatory mechanisms contributing to the inter-individual variability in analgesic
responses to OT. Older adults with symptomatic knee OA will self-administer intranasal OT or P over 4 weeks
using a double-blinded, parallel study design. With strong support from the University of Florida and the McKnight
Brain Institute, our interdisciplinary project, using a comprehensive multi-methods approach, will be the first to
determine the potential benefit of OT as a novel analgesic therapy for knee OA pain in aging. OT is currently
used in obstetrics and may be an inexpensive, effective method for pain management in older adults with little
potential for addiction. Embedded in a biopsychosocial framework, our proposal will help pave the way for future
investigations using a mechanism-based treatment optimization strategy for individuals suffering from chronic
pain.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10151530
- **Project number:** 5R01AG059809-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Yenisel Cruz-Almeida
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $327,875
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10151530

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10151530, Mechanisms of Oxytocins Analgesia in Older Adults (5R01AG059809-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10151530. Licensed CC0.

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