Overview of pain-associated genes that can be used as screening targets in the context of spine surgery.
| Gene | Function | Example Polymorphism(s) Associated With Pain |
| Catechol-O-methyltransferase | Metabolism of catecholamines (dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine) | rs4680 GG (Ernst et al, 2024)99
Val158Met (Rakvåg et al, 2008100; Diatchenko et al, 2006101) |
| Neuropeptide Y | Neuropeptide implicated in pain modulation | rs16147 TT (Ernst et al, 2024)99 |
| Guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 | Rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) | rs998259 (minor allele T) (Kim et al, 2010)102 |
| Opioid Receptor Mu 1 | Encodes for the mu opioid receptor | Asn118Asp (Lötsch et al, 2004)103 |