Some patients really do feel pain more keenly than others, and their sensitivity—or lack of it—probably can be traced to their genes, according to a study published in the January issue of the journal Human Molecular Genetics.
Researchers studying pain perception and predisposition to chronic temporomandibular joint pain at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a genetic explanation for why people feel pain differently and why some are more prone to chronic pain conditions.
A person’s level of the enzyme catecholamine-O-methytransferase (COMT)—the enzyme that controls levels of adrenaline, noadrenalin and dopamine—is an indicator of how sensitive he or she is to painful stimulation, researchers theorize. Humans’ genetic variants of COMT fall into one of three variations that give them either high, average or low pain sensitivity.
Researchers from a variety of disciplines—including medicine, dentistry, physiology, epidemiology, molecular biology and genetics—studied 202 healthy, pain-free women 18 through 34 years of age for up to three years. All participants provided a blood sample for genotyping and underwent regular pressure and thermal pain perception assessments and head and neck examinations.
Study results showed that those with lower levels of COMT were more sensitive to pain and more likely to develop temporomandibular joint disorder. Researchers theorized that people with low levels of COMT also may be at greater risk of developing other chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as other chronic sensory disorders. They also noted that testing for genetic variants can help tailor treatments for patients with chronic pain.
