Current treatment options in neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain results from damage to the nervous system due to many diverse processes. It causes persistent, distressing pain that is reputedly unresponsive to conventional analgesics. Treatment is best managed in a multi-therapy pain clinic setting and pharmacotherapy is one facet of this treatment. There is no single effective drug treatment and patients have been empirically treated with antidepressants and antiepileptics in the past. This review focuses on evidence from randomized controlled trials to assess the efficacy of the currently available drug treatments.