Pain can be an adaptive sensation, an early warning to protect the body from tissue injury.
By the introduction of hypersensitivity to normally innocuous stimuli, pain may also aid in …

The recently discovered epithelial sodium channel (ENaC)/degenerin (DEG) gene family
encodes sodium channels involved in various cell functions in metazoans. Subfamilies …

The cellular and molecular mechanisms that enable us to sense cold are not well
understood. Insights into this process have come from the use of pharmacological agents …

A distinct subset of sensory neurons are thought to directly sense changes in thermal energy
through their termini in the skin. Very little is known about the molecules that mediate …

Peripheral inflammation induces p38 MAPK activation in the soma of C fiber nociceptors in
the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) after 24 hr. Inflammation also increases protein, but not …

Chili peppers produce the pungent vanilloid compound capsaicin, which offers protection
from predatory mammals. Birds are indifferent to the pain-producing effects of capsaicin and …

Pain is the most disruptive influence on the quality of life of cancer patients. Although
significant advances are being made in cancer treatment and diagnosis, the basic …

The capsaicin receptor, VR1, is a sensory neuron-specific ion channel that serves as a
polymodal detector of pain-producing chemical and physical stimuli. It has been reported …

Dorsal horn neurons in the spinal cord integrate and relay sensory information. Here, we
show that the expression of the homeobox gene Lbx1 distinguishes two major neuronal …

Many painful inflammatory and ischemic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, cardiac
ischemia, and exhausted skeletal muscles are accompanied by local tissue acidosis. In such …