Annals of neurology
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Annals of neurology · May 2018
Tuning in C-nociceptors to reveal mechanisms in chronic neuropathic pain.
Develop and validate a low-intensity sinusoidal electrical stimulation paradigm to preferentially activate C-fibers in human skin. ⋯ Sinusoidal electrical stimulation at 4Hz enables preferential activation of C-nociceptors in pig and human skin that accommodates during ongoing (1-minute) stimulation. Absence of such accommodation in neuropathic pain patients suggest axonal hyperexcitability that could be predictive of alterations in peripheral nociceptor encoding and offer a potential therapeutic entry point for topical analgesic treatment. Ann Neurol 2018;83:945-957.