Efficacy and safety of intravenous immunoglobulin as adjuvant treatment for refractory neuropathic pain. Results of an open-label, multicenter study.
Pain Med
; 13(10): 1334-41, 2012 Oct.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22958476
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Neuropathic pain is frequently associated with many peripheral nervous system diseases and its successful treatment is an area of significant and critical unmet need.METHODS:
Twenty adult outpatients of both sexes who had been suffering from painful polyneuropathy resistant to conventional therapies for at least 6 months and up to a maximum of 5 years and who reported severity of pain >60 units on a visual analog scale (VAS) at baseline were included in this open-label pilot study. Patients were randomly 11 allocated to receive adjuvant intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (Flebogamma®, 2 g/kg) in addition to their regular therapy or to continue with the previous therapy (control group).RESULTS:
The mean value of pain intensity (VAS) in the IVIG group dropped from 88 at baseline to 49 after the first week, and to 28 after 4 weeks, while values in the control group only slightly changed, from 85 to 78 after 1 week and to 75 after 4 weeks (P < 0.01). Almost 100% of patients reported strong/medium pain (Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire) in both groups at baseline, while after 4-8 weeks, pain was reduced to moderate/light in 90% of patients in the IVIG group, whereas no improvement was reported in the control group (P < 0.01). In patients' quality of life, scores of the IVIG group (Short Form 36, Clinical Global Impression of Change, and Patient Global Impression of Change questionnaires) in all the follow-up were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.01).CONCLUSION:
This unblinded pilot study showed a beneficial effect of IVIG on neuropathic pain intensity and quality of life in patients resistant to conventional treatments.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Imunoglobulinas Intravenosas
/
Fatores Imunológicos
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Neuralgia
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
Limite:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article