75 Year Old Woman Feels No Pain Due To A Rare Genetic Mutation

There are people in the world who have unusual diseases or genetic mutations that, in some ways, give them superhuman abilities. In 2010, a programme called Stan Lee's Superhumans sought out such individuals and described what set them apart from the rest. A woman has recently been in the news for having a unique mutation that prevents her from ever experiencing pain.

75-year-old  Jo Cameron not only has no pain sensation, but she also heals more quickly and feels less fear and worry. Cameron has a rare genetic condition that enables her to live almost pain-free, according to a team of experts from University College London.

The research, which builds on the team's 2019 discovery of the "FAAH-OUT" gene, has been published in the journal Brain. It describes how the mutation reduces FAAH gene expression as well as its indirect impacts on cellular mechanisms that aid in mood and wound healing.

Woman Feels No Pain Due To A Rare Genetic Mutation

Cameron, a resident of Scotland, was initially sent to the UCL pain geneticists in 2013 when her physician saw that she had no pain after undergoing significant hip and hand surgeries. After six years of study, the FAAH-OUT gene was found.

The "FAAH-OUT' gene is just one small corner of a massive continent, which this study has begun to map, according to Dr Andrei Okorokov (UCL Medicine) and a senior author of the paper. These investigations have discovered the molecular mechanisms underlying painlessness as well as the FAAH-OUT mutation's effects on mood and wound healing.

According to the BBC's report, Cameron claimed that she made jokes with doctors after an operation in 2019, and she promised she wouldn't require painkillers. When the doctor discovered she hadn't taken any, he looked up my medical history and discovered she had never requested pain medication. She recalled that during labour, she had not even felt any pain, and she had found it to be "quite enjoyable."

Cameron leads a comfortable existence free of painful circumstances and adrenaline rushes, yet she considers pain a warning sign that she is missing something.

Feature Image Credit: PA MEDIA/ BBC

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