Congenital+Insensitivity+to+Pain+with+Anhidrosis

Jeremy Huang 9.3


 * Basic info**

- Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA) is a rare hereditary disease causing the inability to feel pain, temperature and/or sweat. - CIPA is part of a group of diseases called Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathies (HSAN). It is HSAN type 4. - You can get CIPA only if both parents have the same mutated gene. - 20% of people with CIPA die before the age of three - There is no cure for CIPA


 * Root Symptoms**

- Can not feel pain - Can not feel temperature - In some cases: - Can not feel hunger - Can not feel taste - Can not feel need to get rid of bodily waste


 * Symptoms to look for**

- Child does not react to falls - Gnawed out tongue - Gnawed fingers - Over heating - Brocken Bones - Joint stress - Not sweating

- A fully functioning nervous system consists of: - Your brain - Your nerves - Your sensory receptors, including: - Your pain sensors, called nociceptors - When you cut yourself, a signal travels from your nociceptors trough your nerves to your brain, which then sends a signal through your nerves to your hands, telling you to move away.
 * Causes**

When somebody has CIPA: - They don’t have any nociceptors - Or the nociceptors aren’t connected to the nerves properly - Their sweat glands aren’t connected to their nerves properly - In this case, when you cut yourself, nothing happens because there is not signal to the brain


 * Difficulties**

- Eating becomes a chore because they don’t taste food and don’t feel hungry - Problems with heat stroke because the body can’t regulate its temperature by sweating and they can’t feel if they are hot or cold - Have to do constant visual checks for broken bones, cuts, infections, etc. - Have to learn to go to the toilet.

__**References**__

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Ahydrosis ( CIPA ) - Help Roberto.com. (n.d.). Welcome to Help Roberto.com - Get your Gogs On. Retrieved September 2, 2010, from http://helproberto.com/cipa.php

Lambert, K. (n.d.). Discovery Health "How CIPA Works". Discovery Health "Health Guides". Retrieved September 2, 2010, from http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/rare/cipa1.htm

HSAN | Dysautonomia Center | Department of Neurology | NYU Langone Medical Center. (n.d.). Department of Pediatrics | Department of Pediatrics | NYU Langone Medical Center. Retrieved September 2, 2010, from http://pediatrics.med.nyu.edu/dysautonomia/autonomic-disorders/hsan

"Are there people who can't feel pain?." Stuff you should know. how stuff works. 21 Apr. 2010. Radio.