Wouldn't it be nice, you would think. But imagine the consequences. As a child, if you don't feel pain, you may eat your fingers. The beebs reports on families in Pakistan who have a genetic mutation that releives them of the sensation of pain.
"the Cambridge team found six people from the three related families all carried the same mutated gene.None had experienced pain at any time in their lives.
Detailed neurological examinations revealed that there was no evidence of any sort of disease which could explain this deficit.
And they were able to perceive a number of sensations, such as touch, temperature, tickle and pressure.
All six had sustained a variety of injuries as a result of their inability to sense pain, including damage to their lips and tongue as a result of biting themselves when young.
The researchers pinned down the problem to a mutation in a gene which plays a role in stimulating sensory nerve cells by controlling the movement of sodium through them.
They believe it could be possible to develop new painkilling drugs which target the same process.
Researcher Dr Geoffrey Woods said: "This paper shows that rare diseases can still be of great importance, because of the insights they give into biological and developmental processes."
Very interesting. I'm seeing numerous things that promise relief of pain without the side effects commonly found with opioid pain relievers.
BTW, love your profile quote. We are all made of the stuff of the universe. That pretty much pisses off the religious fundamentalists, just because their book didn't know about th e galaxy, let alone the universe.
The same thing happens with diabetics. Diabetics get a neuropathy that is characterized by a "stocking glove" distribution, and often their feet are affected. Because they feel little if any pain from little injuries that happen all the time to one's feet, they all too often develop ulcers at pressure points. These ulcers can progress to gangrene and limb loss.