According to the National Institute for Health (NIH) chronic pain states are common in the general population and genetic factors can explain a significant amount of the variability in the perception of pain. For instance, fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and related conditions are syndromes characterized by generalized pain sensitivity as well as a constellation of other symptoms. Family studies show a strong familial aggregation of FMS and related conditions, suggesting the importance of genetic factors in the development of these conditions.

Recent evidence suggests a role for polymorphisms of genes in the serotoninergic, dopaminergic and catecholaminergic systems in the development of FMS and related conditions. Environmental factors also may trigger the development of these disorders in genetically predisposed individuals. In the future, large well-designed studies will be needed to further clarify the role of genetic factors in FMS and related conditions. The knowledge of these gene polymorphisms may help to better sub-group FMS patients and to design a more specific treatment approach.

In other pain/genetic related news, researchers led by clinical geneticist Geoffrey Woods of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research in the United Kingdom, examined the DNA of 578 people with the painful condition osteoarthritis. Woods and his colleagues searched for genetic variations that might be linked to how much pain a patient reported feeling — a subjective measure, Woods says, but currently the best researchers can do.

The team found that people who reported higher levels of pain were more likely to carry a particular DNA base, an A instead of a G, at a certain location in the gene SCN9A.The A version is found in an estimated 10 to 30 percent of people, Woods says, though its presence varies in populations of different ancestries. Visit Wired.com to read more.

In exploring this in more depth I discovered the Pain Genetics Lab at McGill University, headed by Dr. Jeffrey S. Mogil, is working towards explaining individual differences in the sensitivity to pain, pain inhibition by analgesic drugs, and susceptibility to chronic pain pathologies. His experiments are designed to identify and characterize both genetic and environmental contributions to such individual differences, and their interaction. Major sub-themes of the lab’s activities include sex differences in and social modulation of pain processing, which we have found to interact with genetic background.

To learn more about quailty chronic pain management please check my article Overcoming Obstacles for Effective Pain Management that you can download for free on our Article page.

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