Chronic pain after trauma may depend on what stress gene variation you carry

Found this interesting article that explores if some of us are more susceptible to develop chronic pain after trauma  based on our genes...Hypothesis is that too much cortisol in the system may cause chronic pain in some individuals but not others.

some key points...

"Cortisol is a critical link between trauma and chronic pain. This is because cortisol and another stress hormone called adrenaline have been shown to directly sensitize peripheral nerves – giving it the ability to signal pain in the absence of nerve injury. For this reason, it is vital for our bodies to carefully regulate cortisol levels, and to quickly and effectively resolve the stress response.

Regulating the stress hormone cortisol

Fortunately all of our bodies have natural regulators of blood cortisol levels. Typically, a protein called the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binds to cortisol that has been released after stress exposure and causes cells to alter activities of the immune system and brain. But another protein called FKBP5 can also manipulate cortisol levels by binding GR and preventing it from binding cortisol.

If FKBP5 levels are high, it sequesters the GR and prevents the GR from binding and lowering blood cortisol levels. Consequently, levels of cortisol in the blood can rise and potentially cause harm by binding nerve endings and causing pain sensations. Previous studies have shown that a person’s genes can influence relative levels of these proteins."

..."Our genetic analyses revealed that in both African-American and European-American individuals who carry at least one copy of the less common variants, FKBP5-TG or FKBP5-GG, experienced more pain than the individuals carrying only the more common FKBP5-TT variant."

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"Chronic pain after trauma may depend on what stress gene variation you carry"

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