Dr. Jeffrey Mogil from McGill University led an important study published recently in Science Translational Medicine showing that expression levels of the α6 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), is highly associated with allodynia, a prominent symptom of chronic pain.
Furthermore, their results show that the nicotinic alpha6 nicotinic receptors are absolutely required for peripheral and/or spinal nicotine analgesia, and that the nicotinic α6 subunit gene determines variability in chronic pain sensitivity via cross-inhibition of P2X2/3 receptors.
Finally, they established the relevance of these results to humans by the observation of genetic association in patients suffering from chronic pain.
Read the full study in Science Translational Medicine: http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/7/287/287ra72
