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You may have quickly removed your hand when you stuck on a thorny bush or if you touch too close to the fire. This is a natural reaction and usually means that your nervous system is working well.
The exact understanding of the circuits behind this bodily function is not fully understood. However, scientists may have discovered a new piece of the puzzle: a sensory organ just beneath our skin.
Discovered by researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the study was published in the journal Science.
RELATED: SCIENTISTS HAVE CREATED AN ARTIFICIAL ELECTRONIC SKIN THAT CAN "SENS" LIKE THE REAL THING
What are the details of this painful organ found?
The structure calls the nociceptive glio-neural complex, and it is a little different from other regular organs, such as our heart or our liver.
This structure comprises a network of cells called glial cells. Glial cells are already known to surround the nerves and support our nervous system.
However, here, the glial cells create a structure similar to a mesh between the inner and outer layers of our skin. From this mesh, small filamentous protuberances insinuate into the outer layer of our skin.
The researchers discovered that this organ plays an important role in our ability to detect pain naturally through our skin. Whether it is punctures or pressure, this organ helps to detect these painful cases.
Previously, it was believed that only the nociceptive fibers played this role.
"It's probably a hundred years since we thought the pain originated in the nerves of the skin," said Patrik Ernfors, co-author of the study and molecular neurobiologist at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
Ernfors continued, "But what we are showing now is that pain can also be triggered in these glial cells."
How will this discovery help humans on a medical level?
Currently, the finding has only been found in mice. It has not yet been examined and discovered in humans.
New anti-pain organ found in the skin: "Our study shows that sensitivity to pain does not only appear in the nerve fibers of the skin, but also in this newly discovered pain-sensitive organ." @sciencemagazine https://t.co/pf9EehG6Jt pic.twitter.com/nFwQ05VJYz
– Karolinska Institute (@karolinskainst) August 16, 2019
But, as Ernfors said, "Whereas all other sensory organs known [mice] also exists in humans, it is possible if not probable that this sensory organ is also present in our skin ", so that the chances are quite high.
If this is the case, this study may help treat neuropathic pain disorders, which affect approximately ten% Americans, and between 7% to 10% Europeans.
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