New research points a finger at a previously unknown long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) as playing a critical role in activating nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) inflammatory responses and driving the progression of osteoarthritis of the knee.

More than 10% of Americans suffer from chronic pain, and how to prevent acute pain from turning chronic has been a critical question in pain research. But according to a study published in the May 11, 2022, issue of Science Translational Medicine, that approach has it backwards. In several animal models of pain, the resolution of acute pain was an active process. Chronic pain happened when those active processes failed to occur.