Letizia Marsili, a 50-year-old Italian and her entire family suffer from a strange genetic mutation that makes them completely immune to pain.
The scientists named the rare condition after the family ‘The Marsili Syndrome’.
Source: OddityCentral
Letizia became aware of her condition in early childhood when she didn’t feel any certain sensation of pain from burns or fractures.
In a recent interview of BBC, Letizia said, “From day to day we live a very normal life, perhaps better than the rest of the population, because we very rarely get unwell and we hardly feel any pain.”
Moreover, she added that sometimes they do feel the perception of pain but it only lasts for a few seconds. Each member of the family has had difficulties in acknowledging injuries but keeps them going regardless of how serious the injury is.
Source: Tonic
According to James Cox of University College London, the nerves of Marsili’s family are all in place but do not function as they should.
In an interview, Cox said, “We are trying to understand why they do not feel pain, and if we understand this, we will be able to find out if this discovery will help find a new means of anesthesia.”
According to the scientists, they conducted a genetic mapping of the family and discovered their gene called ZFHX2. The scientists will continue the experimentation with more research to understand how the mutation impacts pain sensitivity.
