Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), also known as congenital analgesia is a rare condition in which a person cannot feel (and has never felt) physical pain.
The condition prevents the ability to perceive physical pain. From birth, affected individuals never feel pain in any part of their body when injured.
Congenital insensitivity to pain has two characteristic features, the inability to feel pain and temperature and decreased or absent sweating.
Normally, sweating helps cool the body temperature, people with CIP often have recurrent, extremely high fevers and seizures brought on by high temperature.
People with this condition can feel the difference between sharp and dull and hot and cold, but cannot sense, for example, that a hot beverage is burning their tongue.
Because the person lacks pain awareness he/she is often left with wounds, bruises, broken bones, and other health issues that may go undetected.
Young children with congenital insensitivity to pain may have mouth or finger wounds due to repeated self-biting and may also experience multiple burn-related injuries.
What the hell is it?
According to the Neuroscience Fundamentals, Congenital insensitivity to pain is considered a form of peripheral neuropathy because it affects the peripheral nervous system, which connects the brain and spinal cord to muscles and to cells that detect sensations such as touch, smell, and pain.
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Causes of CIP
- Genital changes
According to the US national library of medicine, Mutations in the SCN9A gene cause congenital insensitivity to pain.
The SCN9A gene provides instructions for making one part (the alpha subunit) of a sodium channel called NaV1.7.
Sodium channels transport positively charged sodium atoms (sodium ions) into cells and play a key role in a cell’s ability to generate and transmit electrical signals.
NaV1.7 sodium channels are found in nerve cells that transmit pain signals to the spinal cord and brain.
The SCN9A gene mutations that cause congenital insensitivity to pain result in the production of nonfunctional alpha subunits that cannot be incorporated into NaV1.7 channels.
As a result, the channels cannot be formed. The absence of NaV1.7 channels impairs the transmission of pain signals from the site of injury to the brain, causing those affected to be insensitive to pain.
- Inherited pattern
According to the National Center of Biotechnology information, this condition is inherited, which means both copies of the gene in each cell have mutations. Each of the parents carry one copy of the mutated gene, but they typically do not show signs and symptoms of the condition (are only carriers).
The baby gets each gene from the parents and is born with the condition
Occurrences of CIP
Congenital insensitivity to pain is stated as a rare condition, Ophanet, who are a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when if affects 1 person per 2,000.
Researchers showed in a study published in the Journal Nature Genetics that Congenital insensitivity to pain is such a rare condition that only about 200 cases have been reported in the scientific literature.
Many of these are the result of mutations in other genes involved in the transmission of electrical signals in the nerves.
It may be noted that some cases go unreported and this does not mean that CIP is not there.
Treatment of Congenital insensitivity to pain
According to the natural medicines, there is currently no known cure for congenital insensitivity to pain.
Treatments are mainly based on the management of symptoms and prevention of injuries and infections.
Antibiotics may be taken by mouth or applied to the skin to treat infections of the mouth or skin.
Since children with CIPA are prone to painless injuries, extreme care and medical supervision is required from a very young age. In certain extreme cases, the child’s baby teeth are extracted to prevent self mutilation of tongue, lips and fingers until they grow their adult teeth.
Parents with children who suffer from CIP who have intellectual disabilities should ensure their children have access to education tailored to their specific strengths and weaknesses.
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, all children with disabilities must receive free and appropriate education.
This law states that staff at the patient’s school must consult with the patient’s parents or caregivers to design and write an individualized education plan based on the child’s needs.
The school faculty should document the child’s progress in order to ensure that the child’s needs are being met.
In general, most experts believe that children with disabilities should be educated alongside their nondisabled peers.
The idea is that nondisabled students will help the patient learn appropriate behavioral, social, and language skills.
For this reason some people with CIP are educated in mainstream classrooms. Other patients attend public schools but take special education classes. Others attend specialized schools that are designed to teach children with disabilities.
Keeping the body temperature within safe margins is vital and must be carefully monitored, since the patients are not able to regulate their body temperature normally through sweating, there may be cases of febrile seizures and, in extreme cases, death.
Occupational therapy may also be used to manage the patients with the condition. During sessions, a therapist helps the child learn the skills needed to perform basic daily tasks, such as feeding, dressing, and communicating with others.
Some patients work with therapists who specialize in disorders and disabilities. Parents and caregivers can ask their children’s pediatricians to recommend a therapist.