Pain is an important protective system that alerts organisms to actual or possible tissue damage. However, a variety of pathologies can lead to
chronic pain that is no longer beneficial. Lesions or diseases of the somatosensory nervous system cause intractable
neuropathic pain that occasionally lasts even after the original pathology subsides. Chronic inflammatory diseases like
arthritis are also associated with severe
pain. Because conventional
analgesics such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and
opioids have limited efficacy and/or severe adverse events associated with long-term use,
chronic pain remains a major problem in clinical practice. Recently, causal roles of
microRNAs in
chronic pain and their therapeutic potential have been emerging.
microRNA expressions are altered not only at the primary origin of
pain, but also along the somatosensory pathways. Notably,
microRNA expressions are differentially affected depending on the causes of
chronic pain. This chapter summarizes current insights into the roles of
microRNAs in
pain based on the underlying pathologies.