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Soldiers with certain gene variations more likely to develop chronic pain after amputation
Saturday, September 13, 2014 Unknown 0 Comments
specific gene variants can foresee which martial service members are more effected to develop persistent,
From 2000 to 2011, there were 6,144 amputations among 5,694 injured service members, according to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. More than one-third had main amputations, defined as the loss of a hand, foot, leg and more. The reported happening for persistent, residual limb pain after amputation
“Traumatic amputations of limbs profoundly change the lives of affected martial service members,” Andrew D. Shaw, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., said in a news release. “Persistent pain after amputation is a serious problem with no effective treatments. By identifying these ‘pain genes,’ we may be able to discover the reasons why pain occurs and predict which patients are more likely to have it. In the future, we hope to discover the biology of persistent pain and develop ways to combat it.”
In the study, investigator collected blood from 49 return active duty service members who had amputations and persistent pain. DNA, RNA and plasma were extracted from the persons samples, which then were mapped using Whole Exome Sequencing technology to identify any variations the participants have in common.
Hundreds of new DNA sequence variations were identified as pathways of biological importance as the possible source of chronic, persistent pain for service members, according to the study.
“In particular, inflammation and the interaction between white cells and the extracellular matrix appear to have central importance,” the researchers wrote in the abstract.
According to Shaw, the study was one of the first to identify pain genes in humans using sequencing, even though some of them have been identified in lab studies.
“Now that we have identified these gene variations, we need to study them and then create new medicines to prevent and relieve the chronic pain for these patients,” Shaw said in the release
chronic pain after amputation, according to a study presented Oct. 14 at the Anesthesiology 2013 annual meeting in San Francisco.
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