Newswise — Scientists are gathering data that show the genders perceive and respond to pain differently, yet pain researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore say that current research hasn't fully integrated these differences into experimental protocols. And some researchers are concerned that if the experiments are less than optimal, the diagnosis and treatment of pain - especially in women - is missing the mark.
Keynote addresses by two internationally recognized researchers, Karen J. Berkley, PhD, from Florida State University, and Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, will highlight Wednesday's session. Berkley is an authority on sex and gender differences in pain and analgesia, while McCarthy is an expert in neuroendocrinology, the study of the brain and hormones. Their session, beginning at 2 p.m. on Sept. 27, is free to interested members of the public, but registration is required. To register please visit: http://rcnip.umaryland.edu/conference/default.htm
Differences in gender and pain arise in the prevalence and severity in a variety of disorders - from irritable bowel syndrome to temporomandibular joint disease. At the conference, even the gender of the clinician working with the human research subjects will be examined to see if the subjects respond differently to people of different sexes, and what can be done to control it. By the end of the conference organizers and participants hope to reach consensus on best practices for evaluating gender differences in their research.
The event is being organized by Michael S. Gold, PhD; Joel D. Greenspan, PhD; and Richard J. Traub, PhD; faculty members of the Dental School's Department of Biomedical Sciences who specialize in pain research. The department's chair, Ronald Dubner, PhD, DDS, spent 30 years doing pain research at the National Institutes of Health and is considered one of the top five pain researchers in the world. Traub is co-chair of the International Association for the Study of Pain's Special Interest Group on Sex, Gender and Pain.
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