THE WOMAN WHO FELT NO PAIN

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A Scottish woman who felt no pain. Joe Cameron is
a Scottish woman born in nineteen forty eight. What's going
on with her? How could she not feel a physical
pain or almost no physical pain or emotionally distress? Well,
what's going on with her genetics? She has two key
mutations a common SNP in the fa AH gene that

(00:22):
reduces activity of what they call fatty acidmid hydrolase, which
is an enzyme, the enzyme responsible for breaking down endo
cannabinoids like anomide. This leads to elevated endocannabinoids. Right because
the enzyme they don't have it, they're lacking it and
this prevents it from breaking down this particular endocabinoid. And

(00:44):
this is which leads to elevated endocannabinoid levels, the body's
own natural pain killers. In addition to that, they also
have a rare microdeletion of the FAAH out previously considered
junk DNA, but further decreases the expression of the FAAH
gene and this amplifies the effect. So what does it

(01:06):
mean physiologically, Well, it means that excess and animide and
related lipids enhanced pain relief, reduced anxiety, and fear, and
even promote faster healing. And lab studies using crisper edited
cells in Joe's own fibroblast, researchers found hundreds of gene
expression changes, including upregulation of pathways involved in wound healing

(01:26):
mood regulation. How was she discovered or her case became
known after she underwent hip and hand surgery in her
mid sixties. He had reported zero postoperative pain, only mild
discomfort during surgery. Doctors tested her pain by pressing on
the orbital bone edge and normally very painful stimulus, but
she felt only pressure. Before these surgeries, Joe had never

(01:48):
needed ANALG six for burns, fractures, or even childbirth, so
it provides a natural blueprint for developing new painkillers that
mimic elevated endoctamalo and activity, potentially helping million suffering from
chronic pain and mood disorders. Research is ongoing to leverage
these insights. Course is one word of caution for those
who think this is a great thing. Joe's pain free

(02:10):
state sounds enviable, but pain is vital. It does warn
us of harm. People who don't feel pain risk hidden
injuries or infections, and Joe has many scars from unnoticed
cuts or burns, and this trait isn't necessarily practical for everyone.