Pain Research Panel

By Kyle Ramsey

Posted: 5/18/10

Beckman Coulter Genomics, with over 10 years of experience supporting pharmacogenomics and genetic analysis, has partnered with Algynomics founder Dr. William Maixner to develop the Pain Research Panel. The Pain research Panel allows researchers engaged in the study of acute and chronic pain conditions to stratify clinical outcomes based on matching phenotypic and genetic profiles using a proprietary list of SNPs. SNP means single-nucleotide polymorphism which is is a DNA sequence variation occurring when a single nucleotide in the genome differs between members of a species. Variations in the DNA sequences of humans can affect how humans develop diseases and respond to pathogens, chemicals, drugs, vaccines, and other agents. SNPs are also thought to be key enablers in realizing the concept of personalized medicine, according to Bruce Carlson.

This hand-curated cystom genotyping panel utilizes the Affymetrix MIP platform and contains over 3,500 SNPs across 317 genes whose protein products are linked to biological pathways that influence pain perception, inflammation, and mood. The Pain Research Pael allows investigators to perform a comprehensive analysis of the genetic factors associated with clinical pain states using existing analyses that were developed by Algynomics for this purpose. These analyses allow researchers to better understand the patophysiology of pain conditions ultimately allowing for the identification of valuable clinical biomarkers.

Applications for the Pain Research Panel

There are many practical applications of the Pain Research Panel. Among these, the ability to assess and evaluate genotypic and phenotypic patient data, identify new therapeutic targets, design clinical trials on pain and associated conditions, conduct genotypic and phenotypic cluster analyses of existing phase II/III data, evaluate responses to pain therapeutics to minimize placebo effects and appropriately target and stratify study populations, and apply statification procedures to phenotypic and genotypic data. These applications are just a brief listing of the possibilities the Pain Research Panel allows. The existance of the Panel marks the endless possibilities of patient care and pain management in the near future.