Articles: neuralgia.
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Motor cortex stimulation (MCS) was introduced in the early 1990s by Tsubokawa and his group for patients diagnosed with drug-resistant, central neuropathic pain. Inconsistencies concerning the details of this therapy and its outcomes and poor methodology of most clinical essays divide the neuromodulation society worldwide into "believers" and "nonbelievers." A European expert meeting was organized in Brussels, Belgium by the Benelux Neuromodulation Society in order to develop uniform MCS protocols in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative courses. ⋯ Substantial commonalities but also important methodologic divergencies emerged from the discussion of MCS experts from 7 European Centers. From this meeting and questionnaire, all participants concluded that there is a need for more homogenous standardized protocols for MCS regarding patient selection, implantation procedure, stimulation parameters, and follow-up-course.
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Support Care Cancer · Dec 2017
Multicenter Study Observational StudyMulticenter, cross-sectional observational study of the impact of neuropathic pain on quality of life in cancer patients.
Neuropathic cancer pain (NCP) is a common and potentially debilitating symptom in cancer patients. We investigated the prevalence of NCP, as well as its management and association with QOL. ⋯ We found that NCP in cancer patients was significantly associated with a worsened QOL, and current management is inadequate. Therefore, future research aimed at developing improved strategies for management of NCP is required.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2017
Neuropathic pain and Nerve Growth Factor in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: prospective clinical-pathological study.
Neuropathic pain can be present in patients developing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Nerve growth factor (NGF) is trophic to small sensory fibers and regulates nociception. ⋯ Serum NGF increases in cancer patients receiving taxane or platinum with painful CIPN, suggesting that it might be a potential biomarker of the presence and severity of neuropathic pain in this population. Long-term comprehensive studies to better define the course of NGF in relation with neurological outcomes would be helpful in the further design of therapies for CIPN-related neuropathic pain.
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Chronic neuropathic pain in the groin is a severe condition and difficult to treat. Dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRGS) covers discrete painful areas precisely with its stimulation power in comparison to spinal cord stimulation (SCS). It was our hypothesis that DRGS provides a long-term relief of chronic groin pain over a period of more than three years. ⋯ In this study, DRGS proved an efficient long-term method for the treatment of chronic neuropathic groin pain and we strongly recommend its use.
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Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) has the potential to relieve neuropathic pain. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the NO-cGMP-PKG signaling pathway is involved in the analgesic effects of early hyperbaric oxygen treatment of neuropathic pain in rats. ⋯ Early HBO therapy could significantly improve symptoms of hyperalgesia of neuropathic pain in rats, possibly via activation of the NO-cGMP-PKG signaling transduction pathway.