Dworkin Robert H
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, New York, USA.
Clin J Pain. 2002 Nov-Dec;18(6):343-9. doi: 10.1097/00002508-200211000-00001.
An overview is presented of neuropathic pain syndromes, their characteristic symptoms and signs, and recent approaches to identifying their pathophysiologic mechanisms.
The results of recent clinical studies of neuropathic pain are reviewed. Chronic neuropathic pain syndromes are emphasized because these long-lasting and often disabling conditions present a much greater challenge for the clinician than acute pain. Peripheral neuropathic syndromes have received greater attention in the research literature than central pain, and studies of syndromes such as postherpetic neuralgia and painful diabetic neuropathy provide the basis for current knowledge of neuropathic pain.
Precise estimates of the prevalence of neuropathic pain are not available, but chronic neuropathic pain may be much more common than has generally been appreciated and its prevalence can be expected to increase in the future. There is considerable agreement that both peripheral and central processes contribute to many chronic neuropathic pain syndromes, and that these different mechanisms may explain the qualitatively different symptoms and signs that patients experience. The limitations of existing treatments for neuropathic pain and the inability to provide relief for many patients has stimulated ongoing studies that examine different approaches to preventing neuropathic pain.
概述神经性疼痛综合征、其特征性症状和体征，以及近期识别其病理生理机制的方法。
回顾近期神经性疼痛临床研究结果。重点关注慢性神经性疼痛综合征，因为这些长期存在且往往导致残疾的病症给临床医生带来的挑战比急性疼痛大得多。与中枢性疼痛相比，周围神经性综合征在研究文献中受到了更多关注，疱疹后神经痛和糖尿病性疼痛性神经病变等综合征的研究为当前神经性疼痛的知识提供了基础。
目前尚无神经性疼痛患病率的精确估计，但慢性神经性疼痛可能比普遍认为的更为常见，预计其患病率未来还会上升。人们普遍认为，外周和中枢过程都与许多慢性神经性疼痛综合征有关，这些不同的机制可能解释了患者所经历的性质不同的症状和体征。现有神经性疼痛治疗方法的局限性以及无法为许多患者提供缓解，促使人们不断研究预防神经性疼痛的不同方法。
