--- title: "Psych News Alert: Discovery of \"Pain Gene\" Paves Way to Personalized Pain Treatment" description: In a genomewide association study of some 1,800 subjects, Japanese scientists have identified a gene on chromosome 2 that appears to influen... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pain_69945952-Jun-24-2025-10-31-50-3656-PM.jpg --- 12/10/12 12:00 AM # Discovery of "Pain Gene" Paves Way to Personalized Pain Treatment ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/12/discovery-of-gene-paves-way-to.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/12/discovery-of-gene-paves-way-to.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/12/discovery-of-gene-paves-way-to.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/12/discovery-of-gene-paves-way-to.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/12/discovery-of-gene-paves-way-to.html) | [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pain_69945952-Jun-24-2025-10-31-49-3754-PM.jpg?width=133&height=200&name=pain_69945952-Jun-24-2025-10-31-49-3754-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pain_69945952-Jun-24-2025-10-31-49-3754-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | In a genomewide association study of some 1,800 subjects, Japanese scientists have identified a gene on chromosome 2 that appears to influence both pain sensitivity and susceptibility to substance dependence. In fact, as the scientists write in *Molecular Psychiatry, *it appears to be the most potent gene associated with human opioid sensitivity that has been identified. The scientists are also attempting to harness their discovery to create personalized treatment for pain. As the lead scientist, Kazutaka Ikeda, Ph.D., of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, explained to *Psychiatric News, *"We predict [before surgery] the  right amount of opioid analgesic each patient will need postoperatively according to [the variant of the pain gene they possesss] together with other information about height, weight, gender, and pain sensitivity. Furthermore, we will apply the equation to predict the adequate amount of analgesic for cancer pain in the future." Information about how psychiatrists can help patients suffering from chronic pain can be found in *Psychiatric News * [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsArticle.aspx?articleid=108698) , [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsArticle.aspx?articleid=108699) , and [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsArticle.aspx?articleid=108700) . In addition, the *[Clinical Manual of Pain Management in Psychiatry](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62275) *is available through American Psychiatric Publishing. (Image: Green Jo/Shutterstock.com)  [pain](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/pain), [personalized pain treatment](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/personalized-pain-treatment), [pain gene](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/pain-gene) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/group_therapy_iStock-1212830670-Jun-24-2025-09-14-06-4265-PM.jpg?height=200&name=group_therapy_iStock-1212830670-Jun-24-2025-09-14-06-4265-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/08/targeted-behavioral-pain-management-may.html) [pain](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/pain), [JAMA Psychiatry](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/jama-psychiatry), [psychoeducation](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychoeducation) ## [Targeted Behavioral Pain Management May Improve Chronic Pain in Patients With Substance Use Disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/08/targeted-behavioral-pain-management-may.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 8/7/20 12:00 AM Behavioral pain management techniques that focus on the interplay between chronic pain and the... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/08/targeted-behavioral-pain-management-may.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/back_pain_iStock-1249589005.jpg?height=200&name=back_pain_iStock-1249589005.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2025/07/remote-cbt-effectively-addresses-pain.html) [pain](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/pain), [cognitive-behavioral therapy](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cognitive-behavioral-therapy), [CBT](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cbt), [remote care](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/remote-care), [digital interventions](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/digital-interventions), [high-impact pain](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/high-impact-pain), [health coach](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/health-coach) ## [Remote CBT Effectively Addresses Pain](https://alert.psychnews.org/2025/07/remote-cbt-effectively-addresses-pain.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 7/23/25 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2025/07/remote-cbt-effectively-addresses-pain.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pills_64481398-Jun-24-2025-07-20-17-1606-PM.jpg?height=200&name=pills_64481398-Jun-24-2025-07-20-17-1606-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/nonmedical-use-of-prescription.html) [opioid pain relievers](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioid-pain-relievers), [nsduh](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/nsduh), [prescription painkiller abuse](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prescription-painkiller-abuse) ## [Nonmedical Use of Prescription Painkillers Continues to Rise](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/nonmedical-use-of-prescription.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 6/27/12 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/nonmedical-use-of-prescription.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T22:35:31.621Z", "datePublished" : "2012-12-10T05:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Discovery of \"Pain Gene\" Paves Way to Personalized Pain Treatment", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pain_69945952-Jun-24-2025-10-31-50-3656-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/12/discovery-of-gene-paves-way-to.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```