Scientists find gene that controls chronic pain
LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists have identified a gene responsible for regulating chronic pain, called HCN2, and say their discovery should help drug researchers in their search for more effective, targeted pain-killing medicines. Scientists from Cambridge University said that if drugs could be designed to block the protein produced by the gene, they could treat a type of pain known as neuropathic pain, which is linked to nerve damage and often very difficult to control with currently available drugs. "Individuals suffering from neuropathic pain often have little or no respite because of the lack of effective medications," said Peter McNaughton of Cambridge's pharmacology department, who led the study. "Our research lays the groundwork for the development of new drugs to treat chronic pain by blocking HCN2." Pain is an enormous health burden worldwide, estimated to cost more than 200 billion euros (174 billion pounds) a year in Europe and around $150 bill...