[Pain more painful in women. Gender perspective neglected in research on the biological mechanisms of pain].

There are some sex differences in the perception of defined noxious stimuli, with females being more sensitive than males in both rodents and humans. Using imaging techniques gender differences of the brain were recently demonstrated in neurophysiological response and pain perception to heating of the skin. Many chronic pain states are more common and/or aggressive in women than in men, i.e. migraine, pain in rheumatic disease and some cardiac pains. There are also sex differences in the pain relieving effects of certain drugs, i.e. opioids and NSAID:s. Since the details of the mechanisms which govern the biological differences between the sexes in health and disease are largely unknown there is scope for additional studies. It is anticipated that such research will reveal new important gender related data which will elucidate the background to a number of ailments and contribute to the development of better and/or quite new treatments of different patients, e.g. patients with chronic pain syndromes.