Jo Cameron

Not to be confused with Joanna Cameron or Joanne Cameron.
Jo Cameron
Born1948 (age 75–76 years)[1]
Other namesPatient PFS[2]
OccupationRetired teacher[3][4]
Known forFamous patient with pain insensitivity and low negative affect associated with FAAHTooltip fatty acid amide hydrolase-related mutations and elevated endocannabinoid levels[3][4][5]

Jo Cameron (born 1948; age 75–76 years), also known as Patient PFS, is a Scottish woman who feels no pain and experiences little to no anxiety or other aspects of negative affect.[6][3][1][4][2][5]

She has two mutations, one in the gene encoding fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and one in the pseudogene FAAH-OUT modulating FAAH expression, which are theorized to be responsible for her condition.[6][2][3][5] FAAH is an enzyme involved in the metabolism of endocannabinoids like anandamide.[7][8][9][3][5] Cameron has high levels of anandamide and other endocannabinoids.[6][3][5]

She was first presented as a published case report in 2019 and was subsequently featured widely in the mainstream media.[3][1][4][5] Development of pharmaceutical drugs (specifically FAAH inhibitors) for treatment of pain and psychiatric disorders has been encouraged by her case.[3][5][10]

  1. ^ a b c Murphy, Heather (28 March 2019). "At 71, She's Never Felt Pain or Anxiety. Now Scientists Know Why". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference MikaeiliHabibYeung2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Levy, Ariel (3 January 2020). "A World Without Pain". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Sample, Ian (28 March 2019). "Scientists find genetic mutation that makes woman feel no pain". the Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Habib AM, Okorokov AL, Hill MN, Bras JT, Lee MC, Li S, Gossage SJ, van Drimmelen M, Morena M, Houlden H, Ramirez JD, Bennett DL, Srivastava D, Cox JJ (August 2019). "Microdeletion in a FAAH pseudogene identified in a patient with high anandamide concentrations and pain insensitivity". Br J Anaesth. 123 (2): e249–e253. doi:10.1016/j.bja.2019.02.019. PMC 6676009. PMID 30929760.
  6. ^ a b c Ahmed M, Boileau I, Le Foll B, Carvalho AF, Kloiber S (2022). "The endocannabinoid system in social anxiety disorder: from pathophysiology to novel therapeutics". Braz J Psychiatry. 44 (1): 81–93. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2021-1926. PMC 8827369. PMID 34468550. Finally, in the remarkable case report of a patient presenting with pain insensitivity and low fear and anxiety, the C385A polymorphism together with a microdeletion linked to decreased FAAH expression was detected as a possible causal factor. In addition, blood levels of AEA and other fatty-acid amides which are degraded by FAAH were unusually elevated in this individual.112
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fowler2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference SantosoDeRidder2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference MaccarroneDiMarzoGertsch2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ZanfirescuNitulescuMihai2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).