The family who rarely feel pain

Letizia Marsili,  a 52 year old woman said  she first realised she was different when she was very young.

She had a high threshold for pain, which meant she didn't feel burns or notice broken bones. this also happens to five other family members meaning they are insensitive to pain.
Scientists believe the condition could be down to some nerves not reacting properly.
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.
"However, in truth, we do feel pain, the perception of pain, but this only lasts for a few seconds."
"We have opened up a whole new route to drug discovery for pain relief," said Prof Anna Maria Aloisi from the University of Siena in Italy.
The Professor and other researchers who studied the family hope their discovery of a gene mutation in family members could help chronic-pain sufferers in the future.