Pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Longstanding Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is associated with activating autoantibodies against α-1a adrenoceptors.
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a limb-confined posttraumatic pain syndrome with sympathetic features. The cause is unknown, but the results of a randomized crossover trial on low-dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) treatment point to a possible autoimmune mechanism. We tested purified serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) from patients with longstanding CRPS for evidence of antibodies interacting with autonomic receptors on adult primary cardiomyocytes, comparing with control IgG from healthy and diseased controls, and related the results to the clinical response to treatment with low-dose IVIG. ⋯ To see if there were antibodies to the α-1a receptor, CRPS-IgG was applied to α-1a receptor-transfected rat-1 fibroblast cells. The CRPS serum IgG induced calcium flux, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting showed that there was serum IgG binding to the cells. The results suggest that patients with longstanding CRPS have serum antibodies to α-1a receptors, and that measurement of these antibodies may be useful in the diagnosis and management of the patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Spinal cord stimulation in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy: a multicentre randomised clinical trial.
Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is a peripheral neuropathic pain condition that is often difficult to relieve. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a proven effective therapy for various types of mixed neuropathic conditions, yet effectiveness of SCS treatment for PDN is not well established. To our knowledge, ours is the first multicentre randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of SCS in patients with PDN. ⋯ After 6 months of treatment, the average VAS score was significantly reduced to 31 in the SCS group (P<.001) and remained 67 (P=.97) in the control group. The SF-MPQ and EuroQoL 5D questionnaires also showed that patients in the SCS group, unlike those in the control group, experienced reduced pain and improved health and quality of life after 6 months of treatment. In patients with refractory painful diabetic neuropathy, spinal cord stimulation therapy significantly reduced pain and improved quality of life.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Thoracic Sympathetic Block for the Treatment of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I: A double-blind randomized controlled study.
Pain relief in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) remains a major challenge, in part due to the lack of evidence-based treatment trials specific for this condition. We performed a long-term randomized, double-blinded active-control study to evaluate the efficacy of thoracic sympathetic block (TSB) for upper limb type I CRPS. The study objective was to evaluate the analgesic effect of TSB in CRPS. ⋯ Quality of life was only slightly improved by TSB. No major adverse events occurred. Larger, multicentric trials should be performed to confirm these original findings.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of oxcarbazepine in peripheral neuropathic pain depends on pain phenotype: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phenotype-stratified study.
In neuropathic pain it has been suggested that pain phenotype based on putative pain mechanisms may predict response to treatment. This was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and phenotype-stratified study with 2 6-week treatment periods of oxcarbazepine (1800-2400mg) and placebo. The primary efficacy measure was change in median pain intensity between baseline and the last week of treatment measured on an 11-point numeric rating scale, and the primary objective was to compare the effect of oxcarbazepine in patients with and without the irritable nociceptor phenotype as defined by hypersensitivity and preserved small nerve fibre function determined by detailed quantitative sensory testing. ⋯ In the total sample, oxcarbazepine relieved pain of 0.7 points (on a numeric rating scale 0-10; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.4-1.4) more than placebo (P=0.015) and there was a significant interaction between treatment and phenotype of 0.7 (95% CI 0.01-1.4, P=0.047). The number needed to treat to obtain one patient with more than 50% pain relief was 6.9 (95% CI 4.2-22) in the total sample, 3.9 (95% CI 2.3-12) in the irritable, and 13 (95% CI 5.3-∞) in the nonirritable nociceptor phenotype. In conclusion, oxcarbazepine is more efficacious for relief of peripheral neuropathic pain in patients with the irritable vs the nonirritable nociceptor phenotype.