Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2002
The effect of intrathecal gabapentin on mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in neuropathic rats induced by spinal nerve ligation.
Gabapentin decreases the level of glutamate and elevates that of alpha-amino-butyric acid in the central nervous system. Gabapentin was shown to have antinociceptive effects in several facilitated pain models. Intrathecal gabapentin was also known to be effective in reducing mechanical allodynia in animals with neuropathic pain. ⋯ Intrathecal gabapentin attenuated significantly thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia in neuropathic rats, but did not block thermal and mechanical nociception in sham-operated rats. Intrathecal gabapentin of antihyperalgesic doses inhibited motor coordination performance without evident ambulatory dysfunction. This study demonstrates that intrathecal gabapentin is effective against thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia, in spite of moderate impairment of motor coordination.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2002
Validation of a Korean version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire.
The aim of this study was to translate the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) into Korean and to evaluate its reliability and validity for use with Korean-speaking patients with fibromyalgia (FM). After translating the FIQ into Korean, we administered it to 55 patients with FM (28 patients filled out the questionnaire again 7 days later) together with a Korean version of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R). The tender-point count (TPC) was calculated from tender points identified by thumb palpation. ⋯ Cronbach's alpha was 0.800 for FIQ1 (the first assessment) and 0.857 for FIQ2 (the second assessment), indicating acceptable levels of internal consistency for both assessments. Significant correlations were obtained between the FIQ items, the HAQ, the severity of clinical symptoms, and the subscales of the SCL-90-R. In conclusion, the Korean version of the FIQ is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring health status and physical functioning in Korean patients with FM.