Chapter One
Neurotrophic influences on
neuropathic pain
Stephen B. McMahon and William B. J. Cafferty
Centre for Neuroscience Research, King's College London, Guy's Campus, Hodgkin Building,
London SE1 1UL, UK
Abstract. Damage to peripheral nerves following trauma or disease has a number of
consequences including the emergence of neuropathic pain. Commonly, neuropathic
pain sufferers experience spontaneous burning pain in and radiating from the area
innervated by the damaged nerves, and an exquisite sensitivity to light touch stimuli,
which are now perceived as painful. These neuropathic pains are often refractory to
conventional analgesic therapy, with most patients obtaining at best only partial relief.
Unfortunately, neuropathic pains are frequently also very persistent and do not resolve
with time. Thus, neuropathic pain is often an extremely debilitating condition with a
bleak outlook. In this paper we review the pathophysiological mechanisms that
underlie these neuropathic pain states with particular emphasis on the therapeutic role ... read full excerpt from Pathological Pain: From Molecular to Clinical Aspects ebook
