http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/february/biox-numb-pain-021914.html
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nbt.2834.html
Stanford professor Scott Delp is exploring the use of optogenetics for pain control. He is experimenting with mice with the hope that this research could be used to understand and treat pain in humans. The optogenetics process is invasive, and therefore not suitable for all.
The mice are modified with gene therapy to have pain-sensing nerves that can be controlled by light. One color of light makes the mice more sensitive to pain. Another reduces pain. The scientists shone a light on the paws of mice through the Plexiglas bottom of the cage.
Increasing or decreasing the sensation of pain in these mice could help scientists understand why pain seems to continue in people after an injury has healed. The researchers hope to learn if persistent pain change nerves, and if so, how they can be changed back to a state where they stop sending pain messages to the brain.
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