The following is a summary of the “Evaluating Associations between Average Pain Intensity and Genetic Variation in People with Sickle Cell Disease: An Exploratory Study,” published in the February 2023 issue of Pain management by Knisely, et al.

Analyze the correlations between 11 SNPs in 9 potential genes and reported average pain levels in sickle cell disease patients. Data and blood samples collected through the Duke SCD Implementation Collaboration Registry were subjected to cross-sectional studies. Pain was measured “on average” by having participants use a numeric rating scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (the worst possible pain). Using TaqMan® Genotyping Assays, they analysed 11 SNPs in 9 genes involved in processing pain. 

The average pain experienced by study participants was compared to each polymorphism’s association with it. Overall, the 86 people included in this study experienced moderate discomfort (Mean = 4, Standard Deviation = 2.4), with a mean age of 28.7 years and a gender split of 64%. Only the rs1799969 polymorphism in intercellular adhesion molecule 1 was strongly linked to pain (P< .01). 

The average level of discomfort experienced by people who carried one or more minor alleles was significantly lower (Mean = 1.25, Standard Deviation = 1.50-2.35) compared to those who lacked any minor alleles (Mean = 4.13, Standard Deviation = 2.25). ICAM1 rs1799969 had a substantial effect size of 1.30. The other single nucleotide polymorphisms had small to moderate effect sizes (range: 0–0.3). The results suggest that the minor allele in ICAM1 rs1799969 may protect sickle cell disease patients from suffering more acute pain.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1524904222001552