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The Pathophysiology of Peripheral Neuropathic Pain—Abnormal Peripheral Input and Abnormal Central Processing

  • Conference paper
Book cover Advances in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery 10

Part of the book series: Acta Neurochirurgica ((STEREOTACTIC,volume 58))

Summary

A review is given on the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathic pain. Central neuropathic pain resulting from damage of the spinal cord or brain is not covered.

The following conclusions are proposed. At the time of peripheral injury, an abnormal injury discharge may be sufficient to produce long term changes in the excitability of the spinal cord and/or an excitoxic death of dorsal horn neurons. These acute changes might set the scene for the maintenance of sensory disorders both as a result of an ongoing ectopic input, which might persistently induce a state of central sensitization and for a structural reorganization of the synaptic connections of the dorsal horn. The implications of these findings is that it may be possible to prevent some of the long term consequences of nerve damage, that the treatment at the time of injury may need to be quite different for that required later, and finally that treatment directed only at the periphery may be insufficient to eliminate the sensory disturbance of chronic neuropathic pain.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Clifford J. Woolf M.D.

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  1. Clifford J. Woolf M.D.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    Björn A. Meyerson (President ESSFN) (President ESSFN)

  2. Istituto Neurologico “C. Besta“, Milano, Italy

    Giovanni Broggi

  3. Fundacion “Sixto Obrador“, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Madrid, Spain

    Jose Martin-Rodriguez

  4. Neurochirurgische Universitätsklinik, Freiburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    Christoph Ostertag

  5. Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer, Lyon, France

    Marc Sindou

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Wien

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Woolf, C.J. (1993). The Pathophysiology of Peripheral Neuropathic Pain—Abnormal Peripheral Input and Abnormal Central Processing. In: Meyerson, B.A., Broggi, G., Martin-Rodriguez, J., Ostertag, C., Sindou, M. (eds) Advances in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery 10. Acta Neurochirurgica, vol 58. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-9297-9_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-9297-9_29

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-9299-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-9297-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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