CMT Neurotpathic Pain study.

[Guest guest]

An overview of the Neuropatic Pain in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease study may

be seen at http://www.archives-pmr.org/abs79_12/v79n12p1560.html

It would be appropriat to get for your doctor to see, if he or she doesn't

believe in CMT your pain.

Official Journal of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine

and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

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Neuropathic Pain in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

T. , MD, Mark P. Jensen, PhD, Bradley S. Galer, MD, H.

Kraft, MD, D. Crabtree, LLD, Ruth M. Beardsley, BA, T. Abresch,

MS, D. Bird, MD

  Objectives: To determine the frequency and extent to which subjects with

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease report pain and to compare qualities of

pain in CMT to other painful neuropathic conditions.

  Study Design: Descriptive, nonexperimental survey, using a previously

validated measurement tool, the Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS).

  Participants: Participants were recruited from the membership roster of a

worldwide CMT support organization.

  Main Outcome Measures: NPS pain descriptors reported in CMT were compared

with those reported by subjects with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), complex

regional pain syndrome, type 1 (CRPS-1), also known as reflex sympathetic

dystrophy, diabetic neuropathy (DN), and peripheral nerve injury (PNI).

  Results: Of 617 CMT subjects (40% response rate), 440 (71%) reported pain,

with the most severe pain sites noted as low back (70%), knees (53%), ankles

(50%), toes (46%), and feet (44%). Of this group, 171 (39%) reported

interruption of activities of daily living by pain; 168 (38%) used

non-narcotic pain medication and 113 (23%) used narcotics and/or

benzodiazepines for pain. The use of pain description was similar for CMT,

PHN, CRPS-1, DN, and PNI in terms of intensity and the descriptors hot, dull,

and deep.

  Conclusions: Neuropathic pain is a significant problem for many people with

CMT. The frequency and intensity of pain reported in CMT is comparable in

many ways to PHN, CRPS-1, DN, and PNI. Further studies are needed to examine

possible pain generators and pharmacologic and rehabilitative modalities to

treat pain in CMT.

  Reprint requests to T. , MD, 1809 Cooks Hill Road, Centralia,

WA 98531.

Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1998;79:1560-1564

© 1998 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American

Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation