User:Mr. Ibrahem/Neuropathic pain
Medical condition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neuropathic pain (NP) is an unpleasant sensation caused by damage or disease affecting the part of the nervous system involved with touch.[2][3] Symptoms may include abnormal sensations such as burning, tingling, numbness, pain with normally non-painful stimuli, or increased sensivity to pain.[2][3][4] Complications may include tiredness, anxiety, depression, or decreased quality of life.[3]
Neuropathic pain | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Venn diagram for type of pain and chronicity[1] | |
Specialty | Neurology, psychiatry |
Symptoms | Burning pain, tingling, numbness, pain with normally non-painful stimuli, increased sensivity to pain[2][3][4] |
Complications | Tiredness, anxiety, depression, decreased quality of life[3] |
Types | Peripheral: Diabetic neuropathy, post herpetic neuralgia, HIV/AIDS, cancer pain[3] Central: Multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, stroke[3] |
Causes | Damage to the nervous system involved with touch[2] |
Diagnostic method | Based on description together with an underlying cause[2] |
Treatment | Duloxetine, gabapentin, nortriptyline, lidocaine cream, TENS[5] |
Prognosis | ~partial pain relief[6] |
Frequency | 7-10% of people[5] |
It is divided into peripheral and central neuropathic pain depending on the part of the nervous system involved.[2] Peripheral causes include diabetic neuropathy, post herpetic neuralgia, HIV/AIDS, cancer pain, and ongoing pain after surgery; while central causes include multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury, and following a stroke.[3] Diagnosis is based on the description of the pain together with evidence of an underlying cause.[2]
Initial treatment may include duloxetine, gabapentin, or nortriptyline.[5] Lidocaine or capsaicin cream or TENS may be used for a specific area of pain.[5][7] If these are not effective pregabalin, counseling, or tramadol may be tried.[5] Other options may include spinal cord stimulation.[5] In trigeminal neuralgia, carbamazepine is used.[7] Despite treatment only about half of people get partial relief from pain.[6]
Neuropathic pain affects about 7-10% of people.[5] It represents about 25% of chronic pain cases.[4] It occurs in about 20% of people with MS and up to half of people after spinal cord injury.[4] Early descriptions of the condition date from the 900s CE by the Persian physicians Abu Bakr al-Razi and Haly Abbas; with descriptions in Europe in the 1700s by John Fothergill.[8]