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Sensory disturbances in complex regional pain syndrome: Clinical observations, autonomic interactions, and possible mechanisms
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Sensory disturbances in complex regional pain syndrome: Clinical observations, autonomic interactions, and possible mechanisms

P.D. Drummond
Pain Medicine, Vol.11(8), pp.1257-1266
2010
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Abstract

To review mechanisms that might contribute to sensory disturbances and sympathetically-maintained pain in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). CRPS is associated with a range of sensory and autonomic abnormalities. In a subpopulation of patients, sympathetic nervous system arousal and intradermal injection of adrenergic agonists intensify pain. Mechanisms responsible for sensory abnormalities in CRPS include sensitization of primary afferent nociceptors and spinothalamic tract neurons, disinhibition of central nociceptive neurons, and reorganization of thalamo-cortical somatosensory maps. Proposed mechanisms of sympathetically-maintained pain include adrenergic excitation of sensitized nociceptors in the CRPS-affected limb, and interaction between processes within the central nervous system that modulate nociception and emotional responses. Central mechanisms could involve adrenergic facilitation of nociceptive transmission in the dorsal horn or thalamus, and/or depletion of bulbo-spinal opioids or tolerance to their effects. Sympathetic neural activity might contribute to pain and sensory disturbances in CRPS by feeding into nociceptive circuits at the site of injury or elsewhere in the CRPS-affected limb, within the dorsal horn, or via thalamo-cortical projections.

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Citation topics
1 Clinical & Life Sciences
1.43 Anesthesiology
1.43.1905 Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Web Of Science research areas
Anesthesiology
ESI research areas
Clinical Medicine
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