Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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The dopaminergic pathway plays a vital role in pain expression. Here, our aim was to investigate the effects of polymorphisms in genes encoding the dopamine active transporter (SLC6A3) and dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) on preoperative pain expression among patients preparing for orthopedic surgery. ⋯ Genetic variations in SLC6A3 and DRD2 may play an important role in pain expression among the elderly prior to orthopedic surgery.