Evaluation of the Neuropathic Component of Chronic Low Back Pain.

Objectives: Assessment of neuropathic pain in chronic low back syndromes is important. However, there is currently no gold standard for its diagnosis. The aim of this observational cross-sectional study was to assess the neuropathic component of pain in various chronic low back pain syndromes using a range of diagnostic tests.

Does lumbar spinal stenosis increase the risk of spondylotic cervical spinal cord compression?

Purpose: The aim of this prospective cross-sectional observational comparative study was to determine the prevalence of spondylotic cervical cord compression (SCCC) and symptomatic cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) in patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) in comparison with a general population sample and to seek to identify predictors for the development of CSM.

Methods: A group of 78 patients with LSS (48 men, median age 66 years) was compared with a randomly selected age- and sex-matched group of 78 volunteers (38 men, median age 66 years). We evaluated magnetic resonance imaging findings from the cervical spine and neurological examination.

Small-nerve-fiber pathology in critical illness documented by serial skin biopsies.

Introduction: Small-fiber pathology can develop in the acute phase of critical illness and may explain chronic sensory impairment and pain in critical care survivors.

Methods: Eleven adult ischemic stroke patients in a neurocritical care unit were enrolled in an observational cohort study. Intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) in the distal leg was assessed on admission to the intensive care unit and 10-14 days later, together with electrophysiological testing.

Alterations in the vascular architecture of the dorsal root ganglia in a rat neuropathic pain model.

An alteration in the structural arrangement of blood vessels identified by RECA immunohistochemistry was studied in a rat L4 dorsal root ganglia (L4-DRG) neuropathic pain model. We compared a three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction of the vascular architecture surrounding bodies of the primary sensory neurons in the L4-DRG of naïve rats with that of rats that had surgically undergone unilateral sciatic nerve ligature. Rhodamine-conjugated dextran (Fluoro-Ruby) was used for retrograde labelling of neurons, the axons of which had been injured by nerve ligature.