Chronic Pain Following Spinal Cord Injury: The Role of Immunogenetics and Time of Injury Pain Treatment

: We are second-year into the three-years of our research program into the immunogenetics and drug exposure factors that contribute to chronic pain following spinal cord injury. Administrative advances made in the second year for Study 1 Site 2 (NSW) include submitting a full NEAF after the review of the initial Low Negligible Risk (LNR) admission was considered to not contain enough information for full review by Human Ethics Research Committee in NSW. Recruitment for Study 1 Site 1 (Royal Adelaide Hospital) includes 173 study invitations letters sent out, 37 consent forms returned & sample/questionnaire mail-outs, 26 buccal samples collected & DNA genotyping completed, 26 participant medical history reports entered into database. We anticipate a quick response from HERC-NSW regarding the NEAF to then begin recruitment from Site 2 in the next 1-2 months. Study 2: We have initiated study 2 recruitment, screening and testing and data collection in underway.