This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
A number of high-quality studies have recently been published that examine the association between neuropathic pain and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The current review identified 52 such studies in patients with six neuropathic pain conditions associated with lesions of either the peripheral (postsurgical neuropathic pain associated with breast and amputation surgery, postherpetic neuralgia, and painful diabetic neuropathy) or central (poststroke pain, spinal cord injury pain, multiple sclerosis pain) nervous system. The results provide strong evidence that the presence and severity of neuropathic pain are associated with greater impairments in a number of important HRQoL domains. However, the evidence also indicates that this impact varies somewhat as a function of the HRQoL domain being considered and that different measures of HRQoL are differentially sensitive to the effects of neuropathic pain. The findings have important implications for the selection of HRQoL domains and measures to use in clinical trials and in clinical research on HRQoL in persons with neuropathic pain and suggest that a biopsychosocial (as opposed to a primarily biomedical) approach would be appropriate for understanding and treating neuropathic pain.
Footnotes
-
Additional material related to this article can be found on the Neurology Web site. Go to www.neurology.org and scroll down the Table of Contents for the April 10 issue to find the title link for this article.
Supported by a grant from Pfizer to the University of Rochester Office of Professional Education.
Disclosure: M.P.J. has received research support, consulting fees, or honoraria in the past year from Anesiva, Depomed, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Fralex Therapeutics (also stock options), GW Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, and U.S. National Institutes of Health. R.H.D. has received research support, consulting fees, or honoraria in the past year from Allergan, Cephalon, Dov Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly & Co., Endo Pharmaceuticals, EpiCept Corporation, Fralex Therapeutics, GW Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., NeurogesX (also stock options), Novartis, Pfizer, Schwarz Pharma, Supernus Pharmaceuticals, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. National Institute of Health, and U.S. Veterans Administration.
Received September 10, 2006. Accepted in final form November 26, 2006.
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Hastening the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Dr. Brian Callaghan and Dr. Kellen Quigg