71 Year Old Woman Cannot Feel Pain, Anxiety, or Exhilaration
March 29, 2019 8:44 AM Subscribe
Jo Cameron gave birth to a child without needing pain killers, it "felt like a tickle". She has injured herself due to not being able to feel the damage happening, but recovers from the injuries with less scarring that average people.
Her congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) is due to a genetic mutation called FAAH-OUT. Researchers hope that studying the mutation will lead to non-opiate methods of pain relief.
Scientists are also intrigued by Ms. Cameron’s extraordinarily low anxiety level. ... She cannot recall ever having felt depressed or scared.
...
In retrospect, she sees how her genetic disposition may have aided her at work. After years as a primary-school teacher, she retrained to work with people with severe mental disabilities. Erratic, aggressive behavior never riled her, she said.
...
But though having this mutation may sound like a dream, there are downsides. One is that she is quite forgetful; prone to losing her keys and her train of thought midsentence. The other is that she’s never felt the “adrenaline rush” that other people talk about, she said.
Her congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) is due to a genetic mutation called FAAH-OUT. Researchers hope that studying the mutation will lead to non-opiate methods of pain relief.
Scientists are also intrigued by Ms. Cameron’s extraordinarily low anxiety level. ... She cannot recall ever having felt depressed or scared.
...
In retrospect, she sees how her genetic disposition may have aided her at work. After years as a primary-school teacher, she retrained to work with people with severe mental disabilities. Erratic, aggressive behavior never riled her, she said.
...
But though having this mutation may sound like a dream, there are downsides. One is that she is quite forgetful; prone to losing her keys and her train of thought midsentence. The other is that she’s never felt the “adrenaline rush” that other people talk about, she said.
I can't be the only one who immediately thought of that House episode.
Her descriptions are pretty great - childbirth felt peculiar, Scotch Bonnet chili peppers induce a "pleasant glow."
This is really interesting, but how long until the military tries to breed soldiers who don't experience pain? Evolution is effective. Maybe we can evolve to manage pain better, but tampering with genetics should make us wary. Something about unintended consequences.
posted by theora55 at 9:03 AM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]
Her descriptions are pretty great - childbirth felt peculiar, Scotch Bonnet chili peppers induce a "pleasant glow."
This is really interesting, but how long until the military tries to breed soldiers who don't experience pain? Evolution is effective. Maybe we can evolve to manage pain better, but tampering with genetics should make us wary. Something about unintended consequences.
posted by theora55 at 9:03 AM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]
Faah out, man.
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:05 AM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:05 AM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]
I thought of an old Simpsons line, myself.
posted by stannate at 9:14 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by stannate at 9:14 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Ok if nobody else is going to say it I will, I am so fucking jealous of this woman I'm kind of angry about it.
posted by idiopath at 9:44 AM on March 29, 2019 [23 favorites]
posted by idiopath at 9:44 AM on March 29, 2019 [23 favorites]
how did the hippie from boston respond to this condition?
"FAAH-OUT."
posted by entropone at 9:56 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
"FAAH-OUT."
posted by entropone at 9:56 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you take enough Xanax you can get close to what she describes. I mean you still feel pain, but it's in a very... academic way. Pity the stuff is so addictive.
Makes me wonder if there's not something going on with her neurochemistry, like maybe some subset of her receptors just don't work or are permanently blocked or something. (I think Xanax is a GABA-A agonist, IIRC.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:57 AM on March 29, 2019
Makes me wonder if there's not something going on with her neurochemistry, like maybe some subset of her receptors just don't work or are permanently blocked or something. (I think Xanax is a GABA-A agonist, IIRC.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:57 AM on March 29, 2019
I couldn’t read the article because of the paywall, so it may have mentioned it, but a different mutation in the same sodium channel causes erythromelalgia, an extremely painful condition.
I can't be the only one who immediately thought of that House episode.
That’s the only episode of House I saw, and it was so ridiculous from a medical standpoint that I never watched it again.
posted by TedW at 10:22 AM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
I can't be the only one who immediately thought of that House episode.
That’s the only episode of House I saw, and it was so ridiculous from a medical standpoint that I never watched it again.
posted by TedW at 10:22 AM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
When I was a kid, a family friend lost the ability to feel pain. Sounds good until you were actually standing next to your car, and the tailpipe is burning through your calf...
And this happened when he was in his late 50s...
posted by Windopaene at 10:34 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
And this happened when he was in his late 50s...
posted by Windopaene at 10:34 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
I did a lot of research on CIP (or CIPA, e.g. Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis) years back. It's the sort of thing that far more often leads to one not coming anywhere near 71 years old.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:34 AM on March 29, 2019 [13 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 10:34 AM on March 29, 2019 [13 favorites]
I can't be the only one who immediately thought of that House episode.
I actually was thinking of a character from one of the Callahans' books.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:44 AM on March 29, 2019
I actually was thinking of a character from one of the Callahans' books.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:44 AM on March 29, 2019
Later, she would tell prospective mothers, “Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as people say it is.”
It was only recently — more than four decades later — that she learned her friends were not exaggerating.
Jesus, thank the Lord this woman didn't also happen to be famous or a writer, imagine the victim-blaming bull crap somebody like this could inflict on the rest of us. I'm so interested in how all of these could be related to each other and contribute to each other:
- no anxiety
- not comparing her lack of pain to others daily experiences and thinking "huh, what's that about?" For SIXTY YEARS.
- never thinking "huh, I don't feel pain like other people, maybe I should go to the dr more often and make sure everything's ok.
Like if you never feel anxiety do you just never question ANYTHING?
posted by bleep at 11:45 AM on March 29, 2019 [25 favorites]
It was only recently — more than four decades later — that she learned her friends were not exaggerating.
Jesus, thank the Lord this woman didn't also happen to be famous or a writer, imagine the victim-blaming bull crap somebody like this could inflict on the rest of us. I'm so interested in how all of these could be related to each other and contribute to each other:
- no anxiety
- not comparing her lack of pain to others daily experiences and thinking "huh, what's that about?" For SIXTY YEARS.
- never thinking "huh, I don't feel pain like other people, maybe I should go to the dr more often and make sure everything's ok.
Like if you never feel anxiety do you just never question ANYTHING?
posted by bleep at 11:45 AM on March 29, 2019 [25 favorites]
Same woman, similar articles from The Guardian and the BBC.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:51 AM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:51 AM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
Quote from The Guardian:
In a case report published on Thursday in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, the UCL team describe how they delved into Cameron’s DNA to see what makes her so unusual. They found two notable mutations. Together, they suppress pain and anxiety, while boosting happiness and, apparently, forgetfulness and wound healing.posted by ZeusHumms at 11:52 AM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
On thinking about it more and further clarifying my thoughts what's striking to me is that I see in this woman a relationship between anxiety and curiosity that I had never thought about before. Is her lack of curiosity caused by her condition? Or are some people just like that? Her just being like that "anyway" seems unimaginable to me.
posted by bleep at 12:07 PM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by bleep at 12:07 PM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]
Thanks ZeusHumms . From the Guardian link, "The upshot is that anandamide, a natural cannabinoid, builds up in the system. Cameron has twice as much anandamide as those in the general population."
posted by King Sky Prawn at 12:08 PM on March 29, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by King Sky Prawn at 12:08 PM on March 29, 2019 [5 favorites]
There was a similar story about this a few years ago about two brothers with this kind of condition. Not a happy story.
posted by Hobbacocka at 12:15 PM on March 29, 2019
posted by Hobbacocka at 12:15 PM on March 29, 2019
Derek Lowe, at the In the Pipeline blog, has some technical comments about the relevance of Ms. Cameron's condition to development of non-opiate pain medication. (The gist: it's interesting, but we've tried messing with FAAH-OUT before and it didn't lead anywhere useful.)
posted by Spathe Cadet at 12:17 PM on March 29, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Spathe Cadet at 12:17 PM on March 29, 2019 [5 favorites]
Like if you never feel anxiety do you just never question ANYTHING?
People just exaggerate so often that sometimes it's hard to tell if something is genuine or performative. Like, despite my intense enjoyment of music, I've never felt so intensely that I screamed and passed out like you'd see during, say, Beatlemania.
Pain itself is complicated, because there are so many different senses and nervous reactions. Maybe she feels *discomfort* when there's excess pressure, heat, cold, or irritation, but not pain per se. How would you know that you've got a medical condition, rather than just being stoic and less prone to exaggeration?
posted by explosion at 12:42 PM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
People just exaggerate so often that sometimes it's hard to tell if something is genuine or performative. Like, despite my intense enjoyment of music, I've never felt so intensely that I screamed and passed out like you'd see during, say, Beatlemania.
Pain itself is complicated, because there are so many different senses and nervous reactions. Maybe she feels *discomfort* when there's excess pressure, heat, cold, or irritation, but not pain per se. How would you know that you've got a medical condition, rather than just being stoic and less prone to exaggeration?
posted by explosion at 12:42 PM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
Several years ago I read a very sad article about a toddler who also could feel no pain, and how dangerous that was. It was at a not-great time in my life and I absorbed the article in ways that were upsetting. It's encouraging for me to read this article and hope that maybe that toddler turned out okay -- even happy.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:47 PM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:47 PM on March 29, 2019 [6 favorites]
Somebody should warn her that Mr. Glass is looking for her.
posted by SonInLawOfSam at 1:37 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by SonInLawOfSam at 1:37 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
I think assuming everyone is constantly exaggerating about everything all the time is the lack of curiosity I'm thinking about. Like someone stubs their toe or touches a hot pan or mentions their menstrual cramps or they fall down and sprain their wrist, these things happen and the person says "Ouch!" Or "AAAHHH" And you think to yourself "Wow, everyone else is SO dramatic! Haha!" And at no time do you think "Why am I different and is this diffeerence meaningful? What would happen to me if I burned my hand or something?"
posted by bleep at 1:38 PM on March 29, 2019 [10 favorites]
posted by bleep at 1:38 PM on March 29, 2019 [10 favorites]
I think Xanax is a GABA-A agonist
I think the term is "positive allosteric modulator?" Instead of activating GABA receptors directly they actually bind to them in a way that enhances the effectiveness of the natural ligand.
posted by atoxyl at 2:44 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
I think the term is "positive allosteric modulator?" Instead of activating GABA receptors directly they actually bind to them in a way that enhances the effectiveness of the natural ligand.
posted by atoxyl at 2:44 PM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
Not being able to feel pain would be really dangerous for most people, but it seems like it hasn't really put this woman in much danger. There was mention of her scars healing- maybe in addition to not feeling pain she is somehow also more protected against getting injured? Because for most people, not being able to feel pain would mean constant injury.
I think I'm one of those people the article mentions who are "over sensitive" to pain. I often feel in pain or discomfort (migraines, aches, fatigue, etc) but I am basically pretty healthy.I also struggle with anxiety.
posted by bearette at 3:27 PM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]
I think I'm one of those people the article mentions who are "over sensitive" to pain. I often feel in pain or discomfort (migraines, aches, fatigue, etc) but I am basically pretty healthy.I also struggle with anxiety.
posted by bearette at 3:27 PM on March 29, 2019 [4 favorites]
The article says the downside is that she's quite forgetful, right? I imagine she subsumed the lack of curiosity into a general personality of ditziness -- "ha ha, oh is that so, ok!"
Personally I am reminded of those witches who used the Flame-Freezing Charm on themselves before being burned at the stake, so that the burning would just be "a gentle, tickling sensation."
posted by batter_my_heart at 5:39 PM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Personally I am reminded of those witches who used the Flame-Freezing Charm on themselves before being burned at the stake, so that the burning would just be "a gentle, tickling sensation."
posted by batter_my_heart at 5:39 PM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Like if you never feel anxiety do you just never question ANYTHING?
As children we build mental models of the world that are often inaccurate and need frequent correcting. That can lead to frustration and anger when nothing ever seems to work the way we think it should, and those emotions act as a goad, continually prodding us to correct the mental models so we won't be surprised next time. I suppose never feeling pain or anxiety she wouldn't have the same urgent desire to correct her worldview.
posted by Kevin Street at 9:07 PM on March 29, 2019 [7 favorites]
As children we build mental models of the world that are often inaccurate and need frequent correcting. That can lead to frustration and anger when nothing ever seems to work the way we think it should, and those emotions act as a goad, continually prodding us to correct the mental models so we won't be surprised next time. I suppose never feeling pain or anxiety she wouldn't have the same urgent desire to correct her worldview.
posted by Kevin Street at 9:07 PM on March 29, 2019 [7 favorites]
The thing is, the way we share pain is performative. It serves a social function. You can see toddlers figuring this out - getting small scrape and only crying when their mom sees them. The severity of the pain and the intensity of the expression are not always related meaningfully, and even when they are, no one has the means to compare. We all assume what we feel is at least similar to what others feel. It is pretty easy for me to imagine growing up that way and assuming that everyone felt pain that way. It's not a matter of thinking that other people's pain is fake, it is not having any way to understand the subjective experience.
posted by Nothing at 5:18 AM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Nothing at 5:18 AM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
bleep, it's also a god thing she didn't become a medical professional.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:01 AM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:01 AM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
theora55: I'm not sure whether people with this syndrome would be good soldiers. There's such a thing as being too mellow.
This being said, breeding soldiers with a trait-- or genetically engineering them-- is very slow. I expect the military to be looking for a way to get the traits with a medication
Actually, better healing sounds like something that would be good for all of us.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:05 AM on March 30, 2019
This being said, breeding soldiers with a trait-- or genetically engineering them-- is very slow. I expect the military to be looking for a way to get the traits with a medication
Actually, better healing sounds like something that would be good for all of us.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:05 AM on March 30, 2019
The article says the downside is that she's quite forgetful, right? I imagine she subsumed the lack of curiosity into a general personality of ditziness -- "ha ha, oh is that so, ok!"
Good point, batter_my_heart.
The link in Spathe Cadet's comment above links in turn to a discussion of a "disastrous" French clinical trial of a FAAH inhibitor in which volunteers suffered severe and irreversible brain damage in a pattern never seen before, to the pons and the hippocampus, so I think we can guess that this woman's memory problems are baked into the mutation. Which makes it a lot less enviable, in my opinion.
posted by jamjam at 10:49 AM on March 30, 2019
Good point, batter_my_heart.
The link in Spathe Cadet's comment above links in turn to a discussion of a "disastrous" French clinical trial of a FAAH inhibitor in which volunteers suffered severe and irreversible brain damage in a pattern never seen before, to the pons and the hippocampus, so I think we can guess that this woman's memory problems are baked into the mutation. Which makes it a lot less enviable, in my opinion.
posted by jamjam at 10:49 AM on March 30, 2019
"Ok if nobody else is going to say it I will, I am so fucking jealous of this woman I'm kind of angry about it."
She's significant in that she has a mutation that hasn't been seen before, but congenital insensitivity to pain, though very rare, has been extensively studied. And it absolutely is not a good thing.
As several people mention above, life expectancy is low. It does vary and the variance seems to be somewhat idiosyncratic but probably related to how thoroughly someone is amenable to be constantly mindful and vigilant about injury avoidance and self-examination for injury.
Infection and gangrene are common. While it may not be the case with this mutation, the one more commonly seen also includes an insensitivity to the need to void one's bowels. Life is very far from easy for those suffering this illness -- I recommend the documentary A Life Without Pain for more insight into this condition.
As someone with a congenital illness that involves various developmental abnormalities, progressive osteoarthritis that begins in youth, and which results in disability and constant pain, this topic is very relevant to my life. I, too, have imagined a "life without pain" as something desirable, but learning about the actual medical condition made it very clear that pain is necessary. And this is also certainly true about emotional pain (which is closely related). The people in the documentary represent a variety of outcomes, from heartbreaking to inspiring, but in all cases it presents serious, life-threatening obstacles.
And if you read the reporting about this specific woman closely, you'll note that she has a long history of unnoticed injury. This mutation's apparent relationship to accelerated healing may have made a big difference, but she's nevertheless had the same kinds of problems with injury as others have. The reporting mentions, but seems to understate, the problems she's had with memory.
I am the last person who would make the argument of the inherent virtue of pain. That's a cultural artifact that has a long and sorry history entrenched in medicine. That mindset should die in a (painful) fire. I am unequivocally in favor of all effective treatments for acute, chronic, and emotional pain.
That said, it's clear that some experience of pain is essential, it's functional. We're being insensitive to the severe problems these folk face as a result of this condition when we present it as desirable. But as a person suffering chronic pain, I understand it. Learning more about this condition provided me with some perspective.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:54 PM on March 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
She's significant in that she has a mutation that hasn't been seen before, but congenital insensitivity to pain, though very rare, has been extensively studied. And it absolutely is not a good thing.
As several people mention above, life expectancy is low. It does vary and the variance seems to be somewhat idiosyncratic but probably related to how thoroughly someone is amenable to be constantly mindful and vigilant about injury avoidance and self-examination for injury.
Infection and gangrene are common. While it may not be the case with this mutation, the one more commonly seen also includes an insensitivity to the need to void one's bowels. Life is very far from easy for those suffering this illness -- I recommend the documentary A Life Without Pain for more insight into this condition.
As someone with a congenital illness that involves various developmental abnormalities, progressive osteoarthritis that begins in youth, and which results in disability and constant pain, this topic is very relevant to my life. I, too, have imagined a "life without pain" as something desirable, but learning about the actual medical condition made it very clear that pain is necessary. And this is also certainly true about emotional pain (which is closely related). The people in the documentary represent a variety of outcomes, from heartbreaking to inspiring, but in all cases it presents serious, life-threatening obstacles.
And if you read the reporting about this specific woman closely, you'll note that she has a long history of unnoticed injury. This mutation's apparent relationship to accelerated healing may have made a big difference, but she's nevertheless had the same kinds of problems with injury as others have. The reporting mentions, but seems to understate, the problems she's had with memory.
I am the last person who would make the argument of the inherent virtue of pain. That's a cultural artifact that has a long and sorry history entrenched in medicine. That mindset should die in a (painful) fire. I am unequivocally in favor of all effective treatments for acute, chronic, and emotional pain.
That said, it's clear that some experience of pain is essential, it's functional. We're being insensitive to the severe problems these folk face as a result of this condition when we present it as desirable. But as a person suffering chronic pain, I understand it. Learning more about this condition provided me with some perspective.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:54 PM on March 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
The first thing I thought of upon seeing this post is Scanners Live in Vain
posted by mmagin at 8:22 PM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by mmagin at 8:22 PM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
As several people mention above, life expectancy is low.
Yeah, my grandfather had a friend who was totally insensitive to pain. After a series of wounds, burns & broken bones, he ended up dying of a self-inflicted injury at age 15, or so.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:39 AM on April 6, 2019 [1 favorite]
Yeah, my grandfather had a friend who was totally insensitive to pain. After a series of wounds, burns & broken bones, he ended up dying of a self-inflicted injury at age 15, or so.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:39 AM on April 6, 2019 [1 favorite]
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