Chronic pain 'can be influenced by genetic make-up'
5/8/2010
A new scientific study conducted by American and Israeli researchers claims to have established a genetic predisposition to chronic pain.
The condition affects up to 20 per cent of adults and can be common in older people who have arthritis in their joints, according to an article in Genome Research.
Yet it seems some people are especially susceptible to the condition due to the presence of the Cacgn2 gene in their DNA, Dr Ariel Darvasi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has claimed.
He goes on to say that this discover opens up many new avenues of research into how to treat chronic pain and ease the symptoms experienced by millions of adults who are living with conditions such as arthritis.
"Our discovery may provide insights for treating chronic pain through previously unthought-of mechanisms," Dr Darvasi explained.
One in every six Irish citizens is affected by arthritis in some way, according to Arthritis Ireland.