Prof Mogil gives us an insight into the genetic control of pain.
He discusses the variability of pain states and the differences between individuals sensitivity and susceptibility to pain and their varying responsiveness to analgesics.
Just under 50% of this variability can be explained by genes, leading us to ask: Which genes are involved in pain? We know about 25-30 genes today but suspect hundreds, maybe thousands of genes impact pain.
Finally, Jeff shares his ‘take home’ message:
- Pain is more prevalent than any other disease
- Pain represents a greater burden of disease than any other condition
- Pain is the major scourge of the world in terms of health problems and needs to be recognised as such
Australian Pain Society 