The hypothesis of a difference between women and men in the face of pain, as well as in the response to analgesic treatments, is the subject of lively debate. Researchers are currently exploring the mechanisms potentially involved.
Some chronic pain conditions, such as migraines or fibromyalgia, are much more prevalent in women than in men. Women also have a greater sensitivity to mechanical, thermal, electrical and chemical stimuli.
De Koninck’s team and that of Carleton University professor Michael Hildebrand used spinal cord tissue collected from 10 women and 12 men after they died, as well as male and female mice, to study the neural mechanisms underlying chronic inflammatory pain. They find in the pages of the medical journal Brain that the protein BDNF, which increases pain sensitivity, has a different effect on male human tissue and male mice than on female human tissue and female mice.
Two other studies were published last March, one in the Journal of Neuroscience, the other in the journal Brain. The first established that a molecule called “calcitonin gene-related peptide” (CGRP) appears to be involved in the transmission of pain signals in women, but not in men. The second studied two other neurotransmitters, called BDNF and KCC2, which play a role in pain transmission in men, but not in women. Several international researchers were involved in these projects and give their views on this important issue. Yves de Koninck from Laval University was involved in two of these projects and comments on the results.
Several international researchers have been involved in these projects and give their opinions on this important issue. Yves de Koninck from Laval University participated in two of these projects and comments on the results.
Read more Yves de Koninck and Michael Hildebrand’s study
