Articles: neuralgia.
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Chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain is a distressing and commonly occurring side effect of many commonly used chemotherapeutic agents, which in some cases may prevent cancer patients from being able to complete their treatment. Cannabinoid based therapies have the potential to manage or even prevent pain associated with this syndrome. Pre-clinical animal studies that investigate the modulation of the endocannabinoid system (endogenous cannabinoid pathway) are being conducted to better understand the mechanisms behind this phenomenon. ⋯ In addition, their results suggest that anti-allodynic effects may also be mediated by additional receptors, including TRPV1 and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT1A). Pre-clinical studies demon-strate that the activation of endocannabinoid CB-1 or CB-2 receptors produces physiological effects in animal models, namely the reduction of chemotherapy-induced allodynia. These studies also provide in-sight into the biological mechanism behind the therapeutic utility of cannabis compounds in managing chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain, and provide a basis for the conduct of future clinical studies in patients of this population.
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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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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) therapy is proven to attenuate neuropathic pain in rodents. The goal of the present study was to determine the potential involvement of the Kindlin-1/Wnt-10a signaling pathway during astrocyte activation and inflammation in a rodent model of neuropathic pain. ⋯ Our findings demonstrate that HBO attenuated CCI-induced rat neuropathic pain and inflammatory responses, possibly through regulation of the Kindlin-1/Wnt-10a signaling pathway.