No Pain to Infinite Pain
June 10, 2017 9:15 AM   Subscribe

 
The Longreads version linked above is just an excerpt of this article from Wired: How a Single Gene Could Become a Volume Knob for Human Suffering by Erika Hayasaki.
posted by amf at 10:03 AM on June 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


Interesting, thanks for posting that! It's one of the holy grails in medicine, an effective pain medication with fewer side effects and less addictive properties. I can only imagine how much it would be worth, both for the humans taking it and the company that wins the race to patent it.
posted by eggkeeper at 10:18 AM on June 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


I can only imagine how much it would be worth, both for the humans taking it and the company that wins the race to patent it.

Billions, no doubt.

In the US, unfortunately, vast numbers of people would be kept away from such a miraculous medication, due to their insurance and the associated formulary lists, which rarely include new meds, no matter how good they are. Insurers will keep that cheap opioid train rolling until the new drug reaches its exclusivity period, when generics can come in.

As a chronic pain sufferer, the thought of not having to reach for an opioid every time things get bad is a the thing of dreams.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:46 AM on June 10, 2017 [13 favorites]


As a chronic pain sufferer, the thought of not having to reach for an opioid every time things get bad is a the thing of dreams....posted by Thorzdad

Yeah.
posted by mule98J at 11:01 AM on June 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


Hell, I would just be happy with say a 50-60% pain block. Going to much farther beyond that, I estimate, scares me.
posted by Samizdata at 3:13 PM on June 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


I agree, Samizdata. Just cutting the pain in half would be a tremendous thing. Life would be so much easier.

Fascinating article.
posted by bryon at 12:26 AM on June 11, 2017


Thanks for sharing. I wonder how non drug based treatments can help. I also found this thought very interesting:

"Pain also leaves an imprint on our cellular memory—the experiences our bodies hold on to and may pass on to our children and grand­children—which some scientists believe may one day help explain why chronic pain can persist even after an injury has healed. We live with the echo of pain inside us, constantly reminding us to watch our step, back away from the stove, slow down. Someone could get hurt."

Epigenetics I suppose.
posted by batboy at 10:51 AM on June 11, 2017 [2 favorites]


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