By Ann Berger, MSN, MD, and C. B. deSwaan

Authors of Healing Pain: The Innovative, Breakthrough Plan to Overcome Your Physical Pain & Emotional Suffering

Interestingly, new research on pain shows that women tend to report more severe and persistent pain than do men. We all know that people have different thresholds for pain. But thanks to today's sophisticated brain-imaging equipment, scientists can now see those variations in action by using positron emission tomography (PET) scans. One such study was led by Jon-Kar Zubieta, MD, PhD, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He and his team did tests to see if our painkilling systems can behave in radically different ways, depending on circumstance, gender, and heredity. Dr. Zubieta's team found that women's painkilling systems were, in fact, much more active on estrogen and women's response to pain less pronounced.

While their painkilling systems are more active, women are still more likely to seek medical attention if they need it. It is more culturally acceptable for women to see a doctor for pain relief. In my experience, men are more likely to put off medical attention for pain unless it is extreme or even incapacitating.

Another study showed that gender, and even hair color, can cause different reactions to treatment. Women have been found to be more responsive to a class of painkillers called kappa opioids than are men. Jeffrey Mogil, PhD, a pain expert at McGill University in Montreal, recently reported that he'd found a culprit, a gene called melanocortin-1, which somehow increases sensitivity to kappa opioids and is also responsible for red hair and fair skin. In a pain test, men and women of all hair colors felt similar distress, but female redheads did a lot better on the drugs! "The data suggest that males and females use different circuitry to modulate pain," says Dr. Mogil.

The isolation of genes linked to pain brings a vast new understanding of how individual responses to pain are triggered. Dr. Zubieta's team also discovered that a small variation in a gene called COMT, which helps regulate the brain chemicals dopamine and noradrenaline, separates the sensitive from the steadfast when it comes to putting up with pain.

The discovery of pain-related genes opens up a new frontier for drug development. Biotech companies are eager to exploit such discoveries, the goal of which is to develop new drugs that attack specific chemical processes in pain instead of launching a full-body attack. One day, pain treatments will vary by individual. Your doctor will be able to examine your genetic makeup and then prescribe a drug that will work specifically for you.

Reprinted from: Healing Pain: The Innovative Breakthrough Plan to Overcome Your Physical Pain & Emotional Suffering by Ann Berger, MSN, MD and C. B. deSwaan © 2006 Ann Berger and C. B. deSwaan. (March 2006; $14.95US/$19.95CAN; 1-59486-012-2) Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.

Authors:
Ann Berger, MSN, MD, is one of the foremost specialists in pain management in the nation. A medical oncologist specializing in pain treatment, she has written and edited numerous books on pain and palliative care for patients and health-care providers. Dr. Berger is also senior editor of the most widely used textbook on palliative care, Principles and Practice of Palliative Care and Supportive Oncology. She currently resides in Darnestown, Maryland.

C. B. deSwaan is a New York City-based freelance writer specializing in nonfiction. She has written 20 books with expert collaborators, including the best-selling Men Are Just Desserts and Smart Cookies Don't Crumble.