Articles: neuralgia.
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Review Meta Analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia.
Patients with herpes zoster can develop persistent pain after rash healing, a complication known as postherpetic neuralgia. By preventing zoster through vaccination, the risk of this common complication is reduced. We searched MEDLINE and Embase for studies assessing risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia, with a view to informing vaccination policy. ⋯ No evidence of higher postherpetic neuralgia risk was found with depression (n = 4) or cancer (n = 5). Our review confirms a number of clinical features of acute zoster are risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia. It has also identified a range of possible vaccine-targetable risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia; yet aside from age-associated risks, evidence regarding risk factors to inform zoster vaccination policy is currently limited.
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Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Jan 2016
ReviewNovel sodium channel antagonists in the treatment of neuropathic pain.
Effective and safe drugs for the treatment of neuropathic pain are still an unmet clinical need. Neuropathic pain, caused by a lesion or disease that affects the somatosensory system, is a debilitating and hampering condition that has a great economic cost and, above all, a tremendous impact on the quality of life. Sodium channels are one of the major players in generating and propagating action potentials. They represent an appealing target for researchers involved in the development of new and safer drugs useful in the treatment of neuropathic pain. The actual goal for researchers is to target sodium channels selectively to stop the abnormal signaling that characterizes neuropathic pain while leaving normal somatosensory functions intact. ⋯ There have been serious efforts by both the pharmaceutical industry and academia to develop new and safer therapeutic options for neuropathic pain. A number of different strategies have been undertaken; the main efforts directed towards the identification of selective blockers starting from both natural products or screening chemical libraries. At this time, researchers have identified and characterized selective compounds against NaV1.7 or NaV1.8 voltage-gated sodium channels but only time will tell if they reach the market.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Impact of topical 5% lidocaine-medicated plasters on sleep and quality of life in patients with postherpetic neuralgia.
To determine the impact of 5% lidocaine-medicated plasters on sleep, quality of life and pain in 265 patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). ⋯ 5% lidocaine-medicated plasters provide benefits beyond pain relief for patients with postherpetic neuralgia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Modulation of serum BDNF levels in postherpetic neuralgia following pulsed radiofrequency of intercostal nerve and pregabalin.
To study the modulation of serum BDNF levels following integrated multimodal intervention in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). ⋯ Integrated multimodal therapy using minimally invasive pulsed radiofrequency and pregabalin in PHN was effective in early pain reduction with elevated serum BDNF levels.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2016
Clinical TrialMinocycline Does Not Decrease Intensity of Neuropathic Pain Intensity, But Does Improve Its Affective Dimension.
Recent understanding of the neuron-glia communication shed light on an important role of microglia to develop neuropathic pain The analgesic effect of minocycline on neuropathic pain is promising but it remains unclear in clinical settings. This study included 20 patients with neuropathic pain of varied etiologies. We administered 100 mg/day of minocycline for 1 week and then 200 mg/day for 3 weeks, as an open-label adjunct to conventional analgesics. ⋯ There was no significant improvement in the scoring of NRS (5.6 ± 1.2 at baseline vs. 5.3 ± 1.9 at 4 weeks; P =.60). The total score of the SF-MPQ decreased significantly (17.2 ± 7.4 vs. 13.9 ± 9.6; P =.02), particularly in the affective subscale (4.4 ± 2.7 vs. 3.3 ± 3.6; P =.007) but not so in the sensory subscale (12.8 ± 5.2 vs. 10.6 ± 6.2; P =.06). We conclude that minocycline failed to decrease pain intensity but succeeded in reducing the affective dimension associated with neuropathic pain.