A new approach to chronic pain

Injuries that result in chronic pain are associated with changes in the brain that last for months after the injury, says research published in PLOS One.

Researchers found that behavioural interventions that reverse chronic pain also remove differences in DNA methylation in the brain. It could mean a totally different approach to the treatment and diagnosis of chronic pain.

“Injury results in long-term changes to the DNA markings in the brain; our work shows it might be possible to reverse the effects of chronic pain by interventions using either behavioral or pharmacological means that interfere with DNA methylation,” says Prof Moshe Szyf who was involved in the research. “Our findings have the potential to completely alter the way we treat chronic pain.”