Acute pain is adaptive, but chronic pain is a global challenge. Many chronic pain syndromes are peripheral in origin and reflect hyperactivity of peripheral pain-signaling neurons. Current treatments are ineffective or only partially effective and in some cases can be addictive, underscoring the need for better therapies. Molecular genetic studies have now linked multiple human pain disorders to voltage-gated sodium channels, including disorders characterized by insensitivity or reduced sensitivity to pain and others characterized by exaggerated pain in response to normally innocuous stimuli. Here, we review recent developments that have enhanced our understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms in human pain and advances in targeting sodium channels in peripheral neurons for the treatment of pain using novel and existing sodium channel blockers.

中文翻译：

---

人类疼痛性疾病中的钠通道：遗传学和药物基因组学。

急性疼痛是适应性的，但慢性疼痛是全球性的挑战。许多慢性疼痛综合症起源于周围，反映了周围疼痛信号神经元的过度活跃。当前的治疗无效或仅部分有效，在某些情况下可能会令人上瘾，从而强调了对更好疗法的需求。分子遗传学研究现已将多种人类疼痛疾病与电压门控性钠通道相关联，包括以对疼痛不敏感或敏感性降低为特征的疾病，以及对正常无害刺激作出反应以夸大疼痛为特征的疾病。在这里，我们回顾了最近的发展，这些进展增进了我们对人类疼痛的病理生理机制的理解，并针对了使用新型和现有的钠通道阻滞剂治疗周围神经元中的钠通道以治疗疼痛的进展。