Genetic and Molecular Mechanisms of Pain

Pain is a common and disabling feature of many disease states. It is frequently not well controlled by existing therapies. In this talk I will review the scope of the problem and some recent developments aimed at improving our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and treatment. In particular I will review our understanding of what molecular entities drive pain in damaged tissues and how these resulting signals are processed – and in many cases amplified – in the central nervous system. An important question is why people with apparently similar levels or disease or injury can experience very different amounts of pain. I will review how genetic and epigenetic processes might contribute to relative pain vulnerability or resilience.