Epigenetic mechanisms impact gene function without affecting the underlying DNA sequence, and are one way in which the environment can have long-lasting effects on the genome. Epigenetics has been slow to catch on in the pain field compared to many other branches of science and medicine, but that may be about to change. Emerging research is beginning to show how epigenetics can help explain why particular individuals are more vulnerable to chronic pain than others, reveal the mechanisms underlying the transition from acute to chronic pain, and identify new targets for pain therapeutics. So argued co-presenters Stephen McMahon and Franziska Denk, King's College London, UK, in a PRF webinar titled Pain Epigenetics: Current Research and Future Challenges, which took place on April 16. The talk was followed by a panel discussion with Chas Bountra, University of Oxford, UK, and Santina Chiechio, University of Catania, Italy. Laura Stone, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, moderated the event.
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