User:PainProf/sandbox/neuralgia
| Neuralgia | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Neurology |
Neuralgia (Greek neuron, "nerve" + algos, "pain") is pain in the distribution of a nerve or nerves, as in intercostal neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and glossopharyngeal neuralgia.[1]
Classification
[edit]Neuralgias are named for the nerve which is affected. Under the general heading of neuralgia are trigeminal neuralgia (TN), atypical trigeminal neuralgia (ATN), occipital neuralgia, glossopharyngeal neuralgia and postherpetic neuralgia (caused by shingles or herpes). The term neuralgia is also used to refer to pain associated with sciatica and brachial plexopathy.[2]
Atypical (trigeminal)
[edit]Atypical trigeminal neuralgia (ATN) is a rare form of neuralgia and may also be the most misdiagnosed form. The symptoms can be mistaken for migraines, dental problems such as temporomandibular joint disorder, musculoskeletal issues, and hypochondriasis. ATN can have a wide range of symptoms and the pain can fluctuate in intensity from mild aching to a crushing or burning sensation, and also to the extreme pain experienced with the more common trigeminal neuralgia. ATN pain can be described as heavy, aching, and burning. Sufferers have a constant migraine-like headache and experience pain in all three trigeminal nerve branches. This includes aching teeth, ear aches, feeling of fullness in sinuses, cheek pain, pain in forehead and temples, jaw pain, pain around eyes, and occasional electric shock-like stabs. Unlike typical neuralgia, this form can also cause pain in the back of the scalp and neck. Pain tends to worsen with talking, facial expressions, chewing, and certain sensations such as a cool breeze. Vascular compression of the trigeminal nerve, infections of the teeth or sinuses, physical trauma, or past viral infections are possible causes of ATN.[2]
In the case of trigeminal neuralgia, the affected nerves are responsible for sensing touch, temperature sensation and pressure sensation in the facial area from the jaw to the forehead. The disorder generally causes short episodes of excruciating pain, usually for less than two minutes and usually only one side of the face. The pain can be described in a variety of ways such as "stabbing", "sharp", "like lightning", "burning", and even "itchy". In the atypical form of TN, the pain presents as severe constant aching along the nerve. The pain associated with TN is recognized as one of the most excruciating pains that can be experienced.[2]
Simple stimuli—such as eating, talking, making facial expressions, washing the face, or any light touch or sensation—can trigger an attack (even the sensation of a cool breeze). Attacks may be lone occurrences, clusters of attacks, or constant episodes. Some patients experience muscle spasm, which led to the original term for TN of "tic douloureux" ("tic", meaning "spasm", and "douloureux", meaning "painful", in French).
Glossopharyngeal
[edit]Glossopharyngeal neuralgia consists of recurring attacks of severe pain in the back of the throat, the area near the tonsils, the back of the tongue, and part of the ear. The pain is due to malfunction of the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), which moves the muscles of the throat and carries information from the throat, tonsils, and tongue to the brain.
Glossopharyngeal neuralgia, a rare disorder, usually begins after age 40 and occurs more often in men. Often, its cause is unknown. However, glossopharyngeal neuralgia sometimes results from an abnormally positioned artery that compresses the glossopharyngeal nerve near where it exits the brain stem. Rarely, the cause is a tumor in the brain or neck.[2]
Occipital
[edit]Occipital neuralgia, also known as C2 neuralgia, or Arnold's neuralgia, is a medical condition characterized by chronic pain in the upper neck, back of the head and behind the eyes.
Mechanisms
[edit]The mechanistic basis of neuralgia is contested. By understanding the neuroplastic changes following nerve damage, researchers may be able to gain a better understanding of the mechanism of hyperexcitability in the nervous system that is believed to cause neuropathic pain.[3]
Diagnosis
[edit]When assessing neuralgia to find the underlying mechanism, a history of the pain, description of pain, physical examination, and experimental examination are required. Pain is subjective to the patient, but pain assessment questionnaires, such as the McGill Pain Questionnaire can be used to identify the character and quality of the pain which may affect the diagnosis.[4] Physical examinations usually involve testing responses to stimuli such as touch, temperature, and vibration. Neuralgia can be further classified by the type of stimuli that elicits a response: mechanical, thermal, or chemical. Response to the course of treatment is the final tool used to determine the mechanism of the pain.[3] Additional tools may be used, predominantly in research settings including Laser Evoked Potentials and Quantitative Sensory testing.
Laser evoked potentials
[edit]Laser evoked potentials (LEPs) are measurements of cortical responses using lasers to selectively stimulate thermonociceptors in the skin. Lasers can emit a radiant-heat pulse stimulus to selectively activate A-delta and C free nerve endings. LEP abnormalities may be indicative of neuropathic pain, while a normal LEP is often more ambiguous. LEPs can assess damage to both central and peripheral nervous systems.[5]
Quantitative sensory testing
[edit]Another method for testing the proper function of a nerve is Quantitative sensory testing (QST). QST relies on analysis of a patient's response to external stimuli of controlled intensity. A stimulus is applied to the skin of the nerve area being tested in ascending and descending orders of magnitude. Clinicians can quantify the mechanical sensitivity of the tactile stimulus using von Frey hairs or Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments (SWMFs). Also, weighted needles can be used to measure pin-prick sensation, and an electronic vibrameter is used to measure vibration sensitivity. Thermal stimuli are quantified by using a probe that operates on the Peltier principle.[6]
Treatment
[edit]Treatment options include medicines and surgery.
Neuralgia is more difficult to treat than other types of pain because it does not respond well to normal pain medications. Special medications have become more specific to neuralgia and typically fall under the category of membrane stabilizing drugs or antidepressants such as Cymbalta. The antiepileptic medication(AED) Lyrica (pregabalin) was developed specifically for neuralgia and other neuropathic pain as a successor to Neurontin (gabapentin).
High doses of anticonvulsant medicines—used to block nerve firing— and tricyclic antidepressants are generally effective in treating neuralgia. If medication fails to relieve pain or produces intolerable side effects, surgical treatment may be recommended.[7][8]
Some degree of facial numbness is expected after most of these surgical procedures, and neuralgia might return despite the procedure's initial success. Depending on the procedure, other surgical risks include hearing loss, balance problems, infection, and stroke. These surgeries include rhizotomy (where select nerve fibers are destroyed to block pain) and Microvascular decompression (where the surgeon moves the vessels that are compressing the nerve away from it and places a soft cushion between the nerve and the vessels).[9]
History
[edit]The earliest cited instance of the term[10] is the French, névralgie, which, according to Rowland,[11] was coined by François Chaussier in his 1801 Table Synoptique de la Névralgie, for "...an affection of one or more nerves causing pain which is usually of an intermittent but frequently intense character".[12] The features and assumed etiology found in the medical literature have varied significantly over time.[12]
Various locations were proposed for the primary lesion during the nineteenth century, including nerve roots, ganglia, trunks and branches, as well as the brain and spinal cord. In 1828, JC Warren[13] and TJ Graham[14] placed the cause in the trunk or branch of the nerve innervating the perceived site of the pain, though Graham also attributed neuralgia to "morbid sensibility of the nervous system" due to "great disorder of the general health". Teale in 1830[15] and many after him argued that it may be located in the spinal cord or nerve root. Later in the century some proposed it may be an affliction of organs such as the uterus or liver, while others classed certain headaches as neuralgias, and proposed that emotional distress may promote the condition.[12]
Culture
[edit]- In R. C. Sherriff's play Journey's End, the character Hibbert lies about having neuralgia to his commanding officer, and demands to be sent home.[16]
- In Marcel Proust's Swann's Way, the father of the narrator suffers from neuralgia.
- In the 1976 film Aces High, a British ace in the Royal Flying Corps (played by Simon Ward) feigns neuralgia to escape the terrors of aerial combat.[17]
- The narrator of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Look at the Harlequins! claims to suffer from neuralgia of the jaw.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Definition: neuralgia". International Association for the Study of Pain taxonomy. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url=requires|archive-date=(help) - ^ a b c d Gilron, I.; Watson, C. P. N.; Cahill, C. M.; Moulin, D. E. (2006). "Neuropathic pain: a practical guide for the clinician". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 175 (3): 265–275. doi:10.1503/cmaj.060146. PMC 1513412. PMID 16880448.
- ^ a b Jensen, T. S. (2002). "An improved understanding of neuropathic pain". European Journal of Pain. 6 (Supplement). London: 3–11. doi:10.1016/S1090-3801(02)90002-9. PMID 23570142.
- ^ Melzack, R. (1975). "The McGill Questionnaire: Major Properties and Scoring Methods". Pain. 1 (3): 277–299. doi:10.1016/0304-3959(75)90044-5. PMID 1235985.
- ^ Garcia-Larrea, L. (2008). "Laser-evoked potentials in the diagnosis of central neuropathic pain". Douleur et Analgesie. 21 (2): 93–98. doi:10.1007/s11724-008-0092-5.
- ^ Daniel, H. C.; Narewska, J.; Serpell, M.; Hoggart, B.; Johnson, R.; Rice, A. S. C. (2008). "Comparison of psychological and physical function in neuropathic pain and nociceptive pain: Implications for cognitive behavioral pain management programs". European Journal of Pain. 12 (6): 731–741. doi:10.1016/j.ejpain.2007.11.006. PMID 18164225.
- ^ Stechison, Michael. Personal INTERVIEW. 18 November 2008.[non-primary source needed]
- ^ Galer, B. S. (1995). "Neuropathic pain of peripheral origin: Advances in pharmacologic treatment". Neurology. 45 (129): S17–S25. doi:10.1212/WNL.45.12_Suppl_9.S17. PMID 8538882.
- ^ Dworkin, R. H.; Backonja, M.; Rowbotham, M. C.; Allen, R. R.; Argoff, C. R.; Bennett, GJ; Bushnell, MC; Farrar, JT; et al. (2003). "Advances in neuropathic pain - Diagnosis, mechanisms, and treatment recommendations". Archives of Neurology. 60 (11): 1524–1534. doi:10.1001/archneur.60.11.1524. PMID 14623723.
- ^ Murray JAH. Bradley H; Craigie WA; Onions CT (1933). Oxford English Dictionary. Clarendon Press.
- ^ Richard Rowland (1838). A treatise on neuralgia. p. 3. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ a b c Alam C & Merskey H. What's in a name? The cycle of change in the meaning of neuralgia. History of Psychiatry. 1994:429–474. doi:10.1177/0957154x9400502001.
- ^ Warren JC. Cases of neuralgia or painful afflictions of the nerves. Boston Med. Surg. J.. 19 February 1928;(i):1–6.
- ^ Graham TJ (1928). Treatise on indigestion. London: W. Joy. pp. 256–7.
- ^ Teale TP. A treatise on neuralgic diseases. Philadelphia: E. L. Carey & A. Hart; 1830.
- ^ Sherriff, Robert Cedric (1983). Journey's end. Harmondsworth: Penguin. pp. 53–58. ISBN 0-14-118326-8.
- ^ Aces High. 1976. Event occurs at 12:39.
Further reading
[edit]- Shankland, Dr. Wesley E. Face the Pain - The Challenge of Facial Pain, (Omega Publishing, 2001) Dr. Shankland is a former associate editor of The Journal of Craniomandibular Practice.
External links
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