Catrina Loucks

BHSc, MSc, PhD

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital

In recent years, opioids have been linked to negative consequences for both maternal and child health. For example, codeine has been responsible for death in both breastfed infants and children after surgery. This has led to warnings issued by several regulatory agencies around the world, including Health Canada, and a subsequent reduction in the use of codeine for pain relief in women and children. However, responses to alternative pain medications, such as morphine, also vary widely between individuals, limiting the ability to choose medications that optimize pain relief while avoiding harm.

Importantly, safe and effective pain management is influenced by individual genetic differences that dictate both how we feel pain and how we respond to specific pain medications. Using pharmacogenomics, the study of how genetic variability contributes to individual drug responses, we are identifying genetic factors that can help predict an individual’s need for, and subsequent response to, specific pain medications. As part of the multi-disciplinary Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety (CPNDS), we are working closely with clinicians, scientists, and patients across the country to develop a pipeline from genetic discoveries to predictive genetic testing to help select the safest and most effective medications for women and children based on their unique genetic signatures.

Our work will allow for more individualized risk-benefit decisions for pain management in women and children, while also contributing to the discovery of novel components of pain response pathways that could pave the way for novel pain management strategies with increased safety and effectiveness.