Regional Pain Syndrome

675 Words3 Pages
Complex Regional pain syndrome types 1 & 2 are neuropathic pain syndromes that typically occur after trauma and is formally known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy. The two types differ slightly. Type 1 develops after trauma not involving a major nerve while type 2 also known as Causalgia develops after trauma involving major nerve damage. They are both diagnosed by symptoms such as regional burning pain, hyperalgesia, edema, changes in skin color and temperature, hyperhidrosis, dystrophic/atrophic skin and nail changes and movement disorders. In recent studies on CRPS it has been recognized that it is not simply a sympathetically mediated peripheral pain condition but rather is a disease if the CNS as well. Evidence for this come from the…show more content…
Patients reported a significant reduction in pain with IVIG treatment compared to the placebo. IVIG is typically used to treat immunodeficiency or autoimmune disorders. The rational for investigating IVIG for the treatment of CRPS is the recent detection of antineuronal antibodies in patients with CRPS. The exact autoantigen is still unknown. IVIG can potentially interfere with these autoantibodies as well as suppressing the response to proinflammatory cytokines, which are important in the mechanisms of CRPS pain and hyperalgia, in the peripheral and the central nervous systems. Pathophysiologic findings support a mechanism that may explain the results of this…show more content…
Only 40% of patients with CRPS have serum antineuronal antibodies, and inflammatory cytokines might be most relevant if pinprick hyperplasia is present. Future studies should focus on patients who have these characteristics to form a more accurate conclusion. Only 3 out of 13 patients had a very positive response, the remaining 10 patients has no or only minimal response. They believe if they were able to identify patients likely to respond, the efficiency of treatment and the cost-effectiveness ratio might be greatly improved. Only then might IVIG offer what they have long been looking for: a safe, effective, easy to adhere to, and scientifically validated form of treatment for

More about Regional Pain Syndrome

Open Document