Pain
-
Clinical Trial
Electrophysiological testing of the trigeminofacial system: aid in the diagnosis of atypical facial pain.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield of objective electrophysiological testing of the trigeminofacial system in atypical facial pain (AFP). In addition to the clinical neurological examination, two brainstem reflexes covering both the peripheral parts and the central connections of the trigeminal and the facial nerves, the blink and jaw reflexes (BR and JR), were recorded in 17 AFP patients. The control group consisted of 18 healthy volunteers with no history of facial pain or chronic headache. ⋯ Additionally, one patient had abnormal BAEP and EEG recordings. On the group level, the AFP patients had significantly higher thresholds of the tactile R1 component of the BR than the control subjects. Electrophysiological testing may offer a valuable tool for both the clinical evaluation, and the scientific study of AFP.
-
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is characterized by a triad of sensory, motor and autonomic dysfunctions, with long-standing pain and temperature differences of the affected and contralateral limb as predominant symptoms. The pathogenesis of the disorder still remains unclear. Among the main hypotheses of an underlying pathophysiology we find inflammatory processes and dysfunction of the sympathetic nervous system. ⋯ Wind-up related pain was also significantly enhanced in the affected limb (P < 0.02). The anti-inflammatory agent had no effect. These results indicate a non-inflammatory pathogenesis in CRPS presumably central in origin.
-
Clinical Trial
Behavioral dimensions of adjustment in persons with chronic pain: pain-related anxiety and acceptance.
Through empirical methods we now characterize patients with chronic pain as either dysfunctional, interpersonally distressed, or adaptive copers. Studying factors that differentiate these groups may reveal the behavioral processes that determine adjustment to pain. Subjects for this study were 190 patients referred for treatment of chronic pain. ⋯ Again, anxiety and acceptance contributed uniquely to classification independent of depression and pain intensity. Pain-related anxiety and acceptance of pain appear to be unique behavioral dimensions of adjustment to chronic pain. Decreasing anxiety and increasing acceptance may 'move' patients with chronic pain from the dysfunctional to the adaptive coper category.
-
Pulse radiofrequency has been recently described as a technique to apply a relatively high voltage near a nerve but without the usual effects of a rise in temperature or subsequent nerve injury. In this set of case reports, the effect of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is described in patients with neuropathic pain syndromes which have been poorly controlled with other oral and invasive treatments. Whilst anecdotal, the results have been remarkable and should encourage further research into this technique. Observations from the basic science tend to support the concept that PRF may induce some sort of long-term depression in the spinal cord.
-
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent and quality of sensory impairment and their relation to pain characteristics and movement disorders in patients suffering from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type I. Neurological testing was performed independently by two examiners in 24 patients with CRPS type I. In eight patients (33%), a hemisensory impairment with decreased temperature and pinprick sensation ipsilateral to the limb affected by CRPS could be observed. ⋯ Motor impairment (contractures, weakness, tremor or difficulties in initiating movement) could be observed in a higher percentage in patients with sensory abnormalities in the upper quadrant or hemisensory impairment (83%) than in patients with sensory impairment limited to the affected limb (42%) (P < 0.05) and was significantly correlated with allodynia/hyperalgesia (P < 0.005). The results demonstrated that sensory deficits in patients with CRPS, frequently extend past the painful area of the affected limb. The increased frequency of mechanical allodynia and movement disorders in patients with hemisensory impairment or sensory deficits in the upper quadrant, might indicate that central mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of CRPS in these patients.