Abstract
Chronic neuropathic pain can significantly reduce quality of life and place an economic burden on individuals and society. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an alternative approach to the treatment of neuropathic pain when standard pharmacological agents have failed. However, an improved understanding of the mechanisms by which SCS inhibits pain is needed to enhance its clinical utility. This review summarizes important findings from recent studies of SCS in animal models of neuropathic pain, highlights current understanding of the spinal neurophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms by which SCS produces an analgesic effect, and discusses the potential clinical applicability of these findings and future directions for research.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 217-225 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Current pain and headache reports |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2012 |
Keywords
- Dorsal horn
- Gamma-aminobutyric acid
- Gate-control
- Nerve injury
- Neuropathic pain
- Neurophysiology
- Pain modulation
- Rat
- Serotonin
- Spinal cord stimulation
- Wide-dynamic-range neurons
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine