Ever wondered why some people feel more pain than others from minor injuries? Well, that is because of a gene, scientists have found.
Scientists at Cambridge University have discovered the “pain gene” known as SCN9A which makes some people more sensitive to and less able to tolerate pain.
According to the researchers, their findings could pave the way for new gene therapy in future to treat patients with chronic pain.
Dr Geoffrey Woods, who led the study, said that finding a gene responsible for pain could greatly increase the ability to conquer and control it.
“The search for effective analgesics (pain relieving drugs) with acceptable side effects has long been the goal of doctors and biomedical researchers,” he was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
“Because current therapies have limited efficacy (effectiveness), with up to 50 per cent of treated subjects receiving inadequate pain relief, there exists a significant need to develop better therapies.”
In their study of 578 people with osteoarthritis, the scientists found the gene which is present in patients with sciatica, phantom pain, back problems and pancreatitis.
A subsequent analysis of 186 healthy women showed that those with the gene had enhanced pain sensations.
The researchers found the protein made by the mutated version of the gene SCN9A stays open longer than the normal one and this, they believe, increases the activation of nerves that produce sensations of dull, aching pain.