The Stimulus research group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has received prestigious funding from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) to further expand groundbreaking research on chronic pain. Neuromodulation, a technique that uses electrical impulses to suppress pain signals, offers hope for patients for whom other treatments have failed. With a total grant of €1.5 million, Stimulus is working on innovative treatments that not only reduce pain but also significantly improve patients' quality of life.
“Severe chronic pain can be completely debilitating. Patients struggle to sleep, work, or enjoy their social lives. They feel trapped in their own bodies,” says neurosurgeon Prof. Dr. Maarten Moens, co-founder of Stimulus. “Neuromodulation provides an escape by suppressing faulty pain signals through electrical impulses.”
Neuromodulation is an expensive treatment that is only reimbursed when previous surgeries have failed to provide relief. However, 90 to 95 percent of patients experience significant improvement after a three-week trial period.
A Holistic Approach to Pain
Stimulus goes beyond pain relief alone. “We focus on overall quality of life,” explains biostatistician and Stimulus co-founder Prof. Dr. Lisa Goudman. “Sleep quality, physical activity, and medication use are just as important as pain reduction. This holistic perspective has received significant international recognition and is at the core of Stimulus’ research approach.”
One major challenge is the high medication use among chronic pain patients, particularly opioids. As part of the Pianissimo project, Stimulus is investigating methods to gradually reduce medication use in a controlled manner. “Withdrawal symptoms make it difficult to stop, but we aim to determine whether a targeted approach increases the likelihood of success,” says Goudman.
A Strategic Year of Success
In 2024, Stimulus strategically prioritized funding applications—with great success. In addition to securing an FWO Fundamental Clinical Mandate for Prof. Dr. Maarten Moens and an FWO Postdoctoral Mandate for Prof. Dr. Lisa Goudman, the research group also obtained an FWO TBM project grant and funding from the Belgian Foundation Against Cancer. "Thanks to these resources, we can ensure the continuity of our research and continue innovating in pain management," says Moens.
Sharing Insights with the Public
The recognition for Stimulus is part of a broader success story: within the University Medical Center Brussels (UMCOR), no fewer than four researchers have been awarded FWO mandates.
To make their work accessible to a wider audience, UMCOR is organizing a series of lectures. The first lecture will take place on February 27, 2025, during which Prof. Dr. Maarten Moens will share the latest insights on pain management. More information about the lectures can be found via this link.
