# Mechanism-based Approach to Pain in Chronic Pancreatitis (MAP-CP Study)

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2021 · $196,451

## Abstract

Project Summary
Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is often accompanied by profoundly debilitating pain that is quite difficult to treat. There are a
large number of analgesics that can be prescribed, but their efficacy often depends on having a mechanistic assessment of
the cause and type of pain. Since there are no tools available in clinics to properly characterize the sub-type of pain a
patient is experiencing, it is difficult to choose a therapy most likely to provide sufficient pain relief. The identification of
biomarker profiles associated with specific sub-types of pain could inform guidelines for pain management that improve
patients' quality of life by reducing the time and expense required to administer the efficacious therapies, reduce the
number of patients prescribed opioids, and identify novel therapeutic targets. This study is designed to test the hypothesis
that patient-derived information can be used to identify pain phenotypes (biomarker profiles) that inform
management of CP-related pain. Aim 1 will be cross-sectional analyses to examine the expression pattern of circulating
proteins that are known to be important for pain signaling. We will compare these in relation to pain characteristics that
have been previously studied including pain intensity, frequency, and interference with quality of life. We will then
determine if putative biomarker profiles and pain characteristics can be differentiated based on the underlying pain
mechanism (nociceptive versus neuropathic). Aim 2 will involve longitudinal evaluation of whether temporal changes in
biomarker profile are associated with changes in clinical symptoms and treatment, such as opioids. This longitudinal study
will allow us to describe the natural history of pain within the same patients. Overall, the results from this study will
provide in depth data regarding the evolution of pain in CP and guide future studies aimed at predicting therapeutic
responsiveness and developing efficacious interventions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10263243
- **Project number:** 5R21DK122293-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Jami Lynn Saloman
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $196,451
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-14 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10263243

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10263243, Mechanism-based Approach to Pain in Chronic Pancreatitis (MAP-CP Study) (5R21DK122293-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10263243. Licensed CC0.

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