Efficacy and safety of 5% lidocaine-medicated plasters in localized pain with neuropathic and/or inflammatory characteristics: an observational, real-world study.

Objective: Based on clinical study results, 5% lidocaine-medicated plaster (5% LMP) is currently recommended for the treatment of localized peripheral neuropathic pain, such as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). However, its effective action, as well as the high safety, have indeed led to its use in clinical practice for pain conditions with similar pathophysiological mechanisms. In this study, the efficacy and safety of 5% LMP were investigated in patients with localized pain with neuropathic and/or inflammatory characteristics, such as PHN, post-traumatic/surgical or musculoskeletal pain.

Behavioural evaluation in patients affected by chronic pain: a preliminary study.

The aim was to analyse the existing relation between a subjective evaluation of pain with the use of the Verbal Numerical Scale (VNS) and an objective behavioural measure associated with pain, by means of the Pain Behaviour Rating Scale (UAB). An observational correlation study was carried out in a hospital environment. The study included 61 patients affected with multiple forms of non-malignant chronic pain; the behaviour was observed by the nursing staff.

Effect of stiffness on the micellization behavior of model H4T4 surfactant chains.

The micellization behavior of a series of model surfactants, all with four head and tail groups (H4T4) but with different degrees of chain stiffness, was studied using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations on a cubic lattice. The critical micelle concentration, micellar size, and thermodynamics of micellization were examined. In all cases investigated, the critical micelle concentration was found to increase with increasing temperature as observed for nonionic surfactants in apolar or slightly polar solvents.

Therapeutic blockade of greater occipital and supraorbital nerves in migraine patients.

A disturbance in the region of the head can provoke pain in the distribution of the trigeminal and upper cervical nerves due to a convergence of the afferent fibers of the three superior cervical roots on the neurones of the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve. The therapeutic value of greater occipital and supraorbital nerve blockade in 27 patients with migraine, unresponsive to several combinations of pharmacological treatments, was investigated. Patients were given repeated anesthetic blocks, on alternate days, up to a maximum of 10 blocks.

Treatment of postoperative pain with suprofen injected by the intramuscular route.

The analgesic effect and the tolerability of alpha-methyl-4-(2-thienyl-carbonyl)phenylacetic acid (suprofen, Suprol) 200 mg/ml were compared with lysine acetylsalicylate 0.9 g/2.5 ml; the study included 60 subjects in severe to very severe pain following orthopedic surgery.