Continuum of sensory profiles in diabetes mellitus patients with and without neuropathy and pain.

Background: Quantitative sensory testing (QST) assesses the functional integrity of small and large nerve fibre afferents and central somatosensory pathways; QST was assumed to provide insight into the mechanisms of neuropathy. We analysed QST profiles and phenotypes in patients with diabetes mellitus to study whether these could differentiate patients with and without pain and neuropathy.

Methods: A standardized QST protocol was performed and 'loss and gain of function' abnormalities were analysed in four groups of subjects: diabetic patients with painful (pDSPN; n = 220) and non-painful distal symmetric polyneuropathy (nDSPN; n = 219), diabetic patients without neuropathy (DM; n = 23) and healthy non-diabetic subjects (n = 37).

[Complex regional pain syndrome-An update].

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a pain disorder that develops in the hands or feet after injury. Currently, two types are differentiated, CRPS I without and CRPS II with nerve lesions as well as with either an initially warm or an initially cold subtype, depending on the clinical symptoms. After trauma a certain amount of inflammatory reaction is considered physiological.

Substance P Serum Degradation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - Another Piece of the Puzzle?

In a previous study, we demonstrated that the serum peptidase system might be less efficient in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Since the neuropeptide substanc P (SP) contributes to inflammation in CRPS, we now investigated the metabolism of SP in CRPS specifically. An SP metabolism assay was performed in 24 CRPS patients, which constitute a subgroup of our previous investigation on BK degradation.

[Complex regional pain syndrome-An update].

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a pain disorder that develops in the hands or feet after injury. Currently, two types are differentiated, CRPS I without and CRPS II with nerve lesions as well as with either an initially warm or an initially cold subtype, depending on the clinical symptoms. After trauma a certain amount of inflammatory reaction is considered physiological.

Reduced serum protease activity in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: The impact of angiotensin-converting enzyme and carboxypeptidases.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) occurs in about 2% of patients after fracture of the limbs. In an earlier clinical study with 102 probands we have shown that the serum protease network in CRPS might be less effective. Based on these results we hypothesized that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and carboxypeptidase N (CPN) activity contribute to the differences of labeled bradykinin (DBK) degradation by patients' sera.

Sympathetic and sensory nerve fiber function in multiple system atrophy and idiopathic Parkinson's disease.

Objective: To explore small fiber somatosensory and sympathetic function in PD and MSA.

Methods: We recruited 20 PD patients (7 women, median age 65.5 years; IQR 54.

Sensory phenotype and risk factors for painful diabetic neuropathy: a cross-sectional observational study.

Different sensory profiles in diabetic distal symmetrical sensory-motor polyneuropathy (DSPN) may be associated with pain and the responsiveness to analgesia. We aimed to characterize sensory phenotypes of patients with painful and painless diabetic neuropathy and to assess demographic, clinical, metabolic, and electrophysiological parameters related to the presence of neuropathic pain in a large cohort of well-defined DSPN subjects. This observational cross-sectional multi-center cohort study (performed as part of the ncRNAPain EU consortium) of 232 subjects with nonpainful (n = 74) and painful (n = 158) DSPN associated with diabetes mellitus of type 1 and 2 (median age 63 years, range 21-87 years; 92 women) comprised detailed history taking, laboratory tests, neurological examination, quantitative sensory testing, nerve conduction studies, and neuropathy severity scores.

Active pain coping is associated with the response in real-time fMRI neurofeedback during pain.

Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) neurofeedback is used as a tool to gain voluntary control of activity in various brain regions. Little emphasis has been put on the influence of cognitive and personality traits on neurofeedback efficacy and baseline activity. Here, we assessed the effect of individual pain coping on rt-fMRI neurofeedback during heat-induced pain.

The efficacy of acupuncture in human pain models: a randomized, controlled, double-blinded study.

Acupuncture is frequently used to treat pain, although data supporting the analgesic efficacy from placebo-controlled studies is sparse. In order to get evidence for acupuncture analgesia we performed a study with 2 well-recognized experimental human pain models - the cold-pressor (CP) test and intradermal capsaicin injection. Fifty healthy men were included.