PainRelief.com Interview with:
Dr. Woojin Won
KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology
Korea University, Seoul
Center for Cognition and Sociality, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon
Republic of Korea

PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that mainly affects the joint, and 30-70% of patients have complained of psychiatric disorders such as depression and cognitive impairment. It was suggested that inflammation of the brain was the cause, but the detailed mechanism was unknown. Based on the previous studies, I hypothesized that neuroinflammation will affect astrocytes (star-shaped brain cells) and induce psychiatric disorders.

In addition, there have been clinical reports that inhibition of monoamine oxidases (MAOs), enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of monoamine, relieves pain and mood disorder symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. However, it is difficult to find a study on MAO inhibitors and rheumatoid arthritis. The reason may be that although MAO consists of two types (MAO-A and MAO-B), several studies have used them without distinction.

Last Updated on October 5, 2022 by PainRelief.com