ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Several guidelines for neuropathic pain management and various effective drugs are available; however, neuropathic pain remains undertreated. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of topical capsaicin 8% in peripheral neuropathic pain in a routine clinical setting. METHODS: Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated through pain intensity, using numerical pain rating scale at baseline and 7-14 days after each treatment, and using pain treatment area (PTA) assessed immediately before each treatment. RESULTS: A total of 43 patients with either post-herpetic neuralgia or post-traumatic/post-surgical neuropathic pain were enrolled. The median percentage reduction in numerical pain rating scale score and in PTA was -40.0 (-50.0 to -33.3; 95% CI, bootstrap) and -35.1 (-50.9 to 3.4; 95% CI, bootstrap), respectively. Pain intensity and PTA were equally improved and reduced in both treated conditions. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that topical capsaicin 8% reduces peripheral neuropathic pain as well as treatment pain area.
Subject(s)
Capsaicin/administration & dosage , Neuralgia, Postherpetic/drug therapy , Neuralgia/drug therapy , Sensory System Agents/administration & dosage , Administration, Cutaneous , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pain Measurement , Retrospective Studies , Transdermal Patch , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Sixteen male red deer (Cervus elaphus), with an initial weight of 93.83 ± 4.38 kg were used to study the effect of the dietary level of ruminally protected methionine (RPM) on growth, antler morphometry and serum metabolites. The deer were allowed to graze and were individually supplemented with concentrate to provide 0, 2.5, 3.5 or 4.5 g/day of RPM for 65 days. There was a quadratic effect on daily weight gain (0.163, 0.098, 0.147 and 0.172 kg/day; P < 0.005) and antler beam length (59.7, 63.6, 63.0 and 57.2 cm; P < 0.02) for RPM levels of 0 to 4.5 g/day, respectively. The brow tine length and the number of points were similar across all treatments. Serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) was reduced (quadratic effect; P < 0.02; 22.0, 29.6, 18.0 and 17.8 IU/l) to RPM levels of 0 to 4.5 g/day, respectively, whereas other metabolites (glucose, cholesterol, urea, creatinine, total protein and serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT]) were unchanged. Increasing the RPM dose did not affect weight gain or antler growth. Methionine supplementation reduced the activity of SGPT.