Painful Na-channelopathies: an expanding universe

The universe of painful Na-channelopathies - human disorders caused by mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels - has recently expanded in three dimensions. We now know that mutations of sodium channels cause not only rare genetic 'model disorders' such as inherited erythromelalgia and channelopathy-associated insensitivity to pain but also common painful neuropathies. We have learned that mutations of Na(v)1.8, as well as mutations of Na(v)1.7, can cause painful Na-channelopathies. Moreover, recent studies combining atomic level structural models and pharmacogenomics suggest that the goal of genomically guided pain therapy may not be unrealistic.