Association between the variable number of tandem repeat polymorphism in the third exon of the dopamine D4 receptor gene and sensitivity to analgesics and pain in patients undergoing painful cosmetic surgery.

To elucidate the mechanisms of individual differences in pain and analgesic sensitivity, we analyzed the variable number of tandem repeat polymorphism in the third exon of the dopamine D4 receptor gene. Alleles that were less than four repeats long and four or more repeats long were considered Short and Long, respectively. We found that the Short/Short genotype group was significantly more sensitive to pain and less sensitive to analgesics than the Short/Long+Long/Long genotype group. Our data suggest that this polymorphism may predict individual differences in pain and analgesic sensitivity and help achieve adequate pain control in the future.