1/131. Treatment of postherpetic neuralgia.OBJECTIVE: To review treatment options for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). DATA SOURCES: Clinical literature selected by the authors accessed via medline. Search terms included postherpetic neuralgia, capsaicin, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and lidocaine. STUDY SELECTION: Controlled trials relevant to PHN. DATA SYNTHESIS: Traditional analgesics offer little benefit for the treatment of PHN. The best results for pain relief have come from capsaicin and tricyclic antidepressants. anticonvulsants have also been used, although the number of studies evaluating this is limited. More invasive therapies, such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and nerve blocks, can be considered if other therapies fail. CONCLUSION: early diagnosis and treatment of herpes zoster may offer patients the best chance of preventing the development of PHN. However, if PHN does develop, the patient should seek treatment early for the best chance of pain relief.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/131. Acute herpetic neuralgia and postherpetic neuralgia in the head and neck: response to gabapentin in five cases.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The clinical presentations and pharmacologic management of three patients with acute herpetic neuralgia (AHN) and two patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), confined to the head and neck region, are described. methods: Two patients had pain in the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve, two had pain confined to the C2-C4 dermatomes, and one patient had C2 pain with radiating and referred pain to the second and third divisions of the trigeminal nerve. RESULTS: Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant drug, was effective in treating these patients, including the two cases of AHN. All patients reported complete pain relief after titration with gabapentin up to 1,800 mg/d. The patients noted a dose-dependent decrease in pain almost immediately after starting gabapentin. Specifically, reduction in the frequency and intensity of allodynia, burning pain, shooting pain, and throbbing pain were noted. None of the patients experienced side effects from the drug. CONCLUSIONS: In view of the results in these patients, blinded, controlled studies are needed to determine the efficacy of gabapentin for treating AHN and PHN.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/131. Painful oculomotor nerve palsy - A presenting sign of internal carotid artery stenosis.We report a 72-year-old patient presenting acute painful partial left IIIrd nerve palsy with pupillary involvement. Due to the patient's age and mild hyperlipidemia a microangiopathic ischemic origin was assumed after a compressive or inflammatory cause had been excluded by magnetic resonance imaging, blood and cerebrospinal fluid analyses. Carotid ultrasound examination disclosed a high-grade stenosis of the ipsilateral internal carotid artery (ICA). In the absence of diabetes mellitus, other significant vascular risk factors and leukoencephalopathy indicative of advanced arteriosclerotic disease, we suggest a pathogenetic role of the ICA stenosis in ischemic IIIrd nerve palsy. The frequency of a IIIrd nerve palsy as the presenting symptom in patients with ICA stenosis as well as the frequency of an ICA stenosis being the cause in patients with isolated IIIrd nerve palsy is not well documented in the literature. Both seem to be rare but may be underestimated. We advocate cervicocerebral ultrasound examination in patients presenting IIIrd nerve palsy with no obvious or a presumed ischemic cause.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/131. Paraneoplastic painful ulnar neuropathy.A 58-year-old woman developed painful, bilateral ulnar neuropathy in conjunction with small cell lung carcinoma and high serum titer of anti-Hu antibody. An incidental stage I plasma cell dyscrasia, with immunoglobulin g kappa monoclonal protein, was also present. Electropysiological assessment excluded a generalized neuropathy, and nerve biopsy showed marked loss of myelinated and small unmyelinated fibers, without inflammatory changes or amyloid deposition. High titers of circulating anti-Hu antibody can be associated with symptoms resembling a paraneoplastic mononeuropathy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/131. Responses to median and tibial nerve stimulation in patients with chronic neuropathic pain.Somatosensory evoked magnetic fields and electrical potentials were measured in eight patients with unilateral neuropathic pain. After median nerve stimulation on the painful side, the amplitudes of the evoked responses were enhanced 2 to 3 times at a latency of about 100 ms compared to the responses of the contralateral, unaffected side. After posterior tibial nerve stimulation an enhancement was found at latencies around 110 ms and 150 ms. The scalp distribution of the magnetic field at the latencies of "abnormal" responses was dipolar and the responses could be ascribed to a current dipole. Three (of the eight) patients underwent spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for their pain. The enhancement of the evoked responses to stimulation of the painful side decreased after spinal cord stimulation. After a long period of spinal cord stimulation only (e.g., a year) during which the patient reported to be pain free, these "abnormal" responses were no longer observed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.8141136833474keywords = median nerve, nerve, median (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/131. Endoscopic supraorbital nerve neurolysis.Endoscopic surgery, performed through small incisions, yields therapeutic results equivalent or superior to those obtained using the conventional approach. The technique has been established in laparoscopic cholecystectomic surgery. In plastic surgery, endoscopic techniques were first developed in aesthetic procedures and have been reported to be useful in face-lift operations, breast reconstruction, muscle flap harvesting and subcutaneous surgery. Endobrow lift has become a more and more popular aesthetic procedure. The endoscope provides an excellent magnification and, through a high power light source, a very good illumination of the operative field. It explains why the endoscope is more and more used in reconstructive procedures. We report the case of a patient suffering from a posttraumatic entrapment of the right supraorbital nerve which was released by an endoscopic approach.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/131. Coincidental supraorbital neuralgia and sinusitis.headache interpreted as treatment failure may be encountered after FESS or pharmacological treatment for chronic sinusitis. This persistent symptom may lead, even in the presence of minimal sinus disease, to frequent office visits, medical treatment, primary surgery, and revision procedures. A prospective study of patients with a documented history and imaging-verified sinus disease with persistent atypical refractory headache were evaluated. Diagnostic measures included injection of local anesthetic and response to carbamazepine. Severe neuralgia of the supraorbital nerve was identified in 11 patients with chronic sinusitis, treated either medically or surgically before inclusion in the study. Eight of the patients underwent surgery for sinus disease, and five of them had revision surgery because of persisting complaints. All patients responded favorably to the local injection, and eight were treated with carbamazepine. In certain cases, headache in sinusitis patients may be caused or aggravated by supraorbital neuralgia. Sinus disease is possibly a causative factor but conceivably plays the role of a "red herring." This readily diagnosed and treated coexistence may be more prevalent than recognized formerly.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/131. Bilateral median nerve compression at the level of Struthers' ligament. Case report.Struthers' ligament syndrome is a rare cause of median nerve entrapment. Bilateral compression of the median nerve is even more rare. It presents with pain, sensory disturbance, and/or motor function loss at the median nerve's dermatomal area. The authors present the case of a 21-year-old woman with bilateral median nerve compression caused by Struthers' ligament. She underwent surgical decompression of the nerve on both sides. To the authors' knowledge, this case is the first reported bilateral compression of the median nerve caused by Struthers' ligament. The presentation and symptomatology of Struthers' ligament syndrome must be differentiated from median nerve compression arising from other causes.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 13.209956346023keywords = median nerve, nerve, median (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/131. Glossopharyngeal neuralgia following foreign body impaction in the neck.Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is rare, typically idiopathic and treated with carbamazepine. Surgery to decompress or transect the glossopharyngeal nerve root may be performed if conservative management fails. We present a case following trauma to the neck with foreign body impaction. To our knowledge this is the first case of glossopharyngeal neuralgia due to neck trauma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/131. Tonsillar pain mimicking glossopharyngeal neuralgia as a complication of vagus nerve stimulation: case report.An adolescent girl presented with severe, lancinating tonsillar pain exacerbated by swallowing 6 weeks after initiation of left vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy. Her symptoms mimicked those seen in glossopharyngeal neuralgia and were relieved by temporary cessation of stimulation. Gradual reinstitution of therapy with alteration in stimulus parameters resulted in improved seizure control as well as cessation of pain symptoms. Direct stimulation of the vagus nerve may result in vagoglossopharyngeal neuralgia, which, in this case, was amenable to stimulus modification.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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