Startseite Assessment of central sensitization in the clinic. Is it possible?
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Assessment of central sensitization in the clinic. Is it possible?

  • Per Hansson
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 1. Juli 2012
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Scandinavian Journal of Pain
Aus der Zeitschrift Scandinavian Journal of Pain Band 3 Heft 3

Central sensitization, a wording derived from the animal neurophysiological literature, is undoubtedly in fashion in the field of pain medicine and is frequently articulated by clinical researchers when referring to any spread of pain-related sensitivity and is used by clinicians to explain strange clinical phenomenologies. In more strict neurophysiological terms central sensitization is a form of activity-dependent neuronal plasticity and has recently been described regarding its highly complex cellular and molecular mechanisms [1] and potential implications for the diagnosis and treatment of pain [2].

Acquainting data from animal experiments on altered neuronal excitability as a result of challenging input in nocieptive afferents with the clinical literature on local/regional and remote hypersensitivity to normally non-painful and painful stimuli in patients with localized pain conditions, non-critical interpretations of data are commonly found in the latter [3,4]. The pre-clinical literature on the subject offers insights into use-dependent synaptic plasticity in dorsal horn neurons in or near the segment receiving nociceptive input from the periphery. The clinical literature demonstrates local and remote widespread hypersensitivity in conditions with a fairly well understood pathophysiology (and in less well understood conditions) which frequently and indiscriminately is interpreted in terms of central sensitization. The presentation will:

  1. draw attention to the mismatch between pre-clinical and clinical data on central sensitization,

  2. discuss suggested features of the clinical phenotype that may rely on homo- and heterotopic central sensitization,

  3. suggest exercising caution when interpreting clinical data in terms of central sensitization,

  4. point to alternative explanations and nomenclature for widespread increased sensitivity.

Currently, central sensitization lacks diagnostic criteria in the clinical scenario and should hence be employed warily, if at all, in such a setting. In the interest of pursuing a mechanism-based classification and treatment of pain translational aspects of pain medicine would benefit from more cautious interpretations of findings in human studies. Repeated use of an unproven concept has caught on in the pain community and may leave translational aspects of pain trivialized and us ridiculed by those who know better.

References

[1] Woolf CJ. Central sensitization: Implications for the diagnosis and treatment of pain. Pain 2011;152:S2–15.Suche in Google Scholar

[2] Latremoliere A, Woolf CJ. Central sensitization: a generator of pain hypersensitivity by central neural plasticity. Journal of Pain 2009;9:895–926.Suche in Google Scholar

[3] Fernandez-Carnero J, et al. Widespread mechanical pain hypersensitivity as sign of central sensitization in unilateral epicondylalgia. Clinical Journal of Pain 2009;25:555–61.Suche in Google Scholar

[4] Cesar Fernandez-de-las-Penas C, et al. Bilateral widespread mechanical pain sensitivity in carpal tunnel syndrome: evidence of central processing in unilateral neuropathy. Brain 2009;132:1472–9.Suche in Google Scholar
Published Online: 2012-07-01
Published in Print: 2012-07-01

© 2012 Scandinavian Association for the Study of Pain

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjpain.2012.05.008

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Editorial comment
  2. Spontaneous pain is reduced by conditioning pain modulation in peripheral neuropathy but not in fibromyalgia—Implications for different pain mechanisms
  3. Clinical pain research
  4. Differential pain modulation in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia
  5. Editorial comment
  6. Pulsed radiofrequency—Time for a clinical pause and more science
  7. Clinical pain research
  8. Pulsed radiofrequency in peripheral posttraumatic neuropathic pain: A double blind sham controlled randomized clinical trial
  9. Editorial comment
  10. Phantom pains and sensations – how does it feel? Only the patient really knows
  11. Clinical pain research
  12. Phantom phenomena – Their perceived qualities and consequences from the patient’s perspective
  13. Editorial comment
  14. Impact of mental stressor on conditioned pain modulation
  15. Original experimental
  16. The effect of a mental stressor on conditioned pain modulation in healthy subjects
  17. Editorial comment
  18. Pharmacological modulation of chronic pain after whiplash injury
  19. Clinical pain research
  20. Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD): Responses to pharmacological challenges and psychometric tests
  21. Editorial comment
  22. Why are autonomic responses to pressure pain different from those to heat pain and ischaemic pain?
  23. Original experimental
  24. Cardiovascular responses to and modulation of pressure pain sensitivity in normotensive, pain-free women
  25. Correspondence
  26. Piriformis muscle injection guided by sciatic nerve stimulation: Quick, simple, and safe technique
  27. Correspondence
  28. Musculus piriformis syndrome: Localization and injection therapy—Comment to letter from Mayo-Moldes M et al. [1]
  29. Abstracts
  30. The “pain matrix” reloaded
  31. Abstracts
  32. Endpoints in animal pain models
  33. Abstracts
  34. Evaluating pain-related behavior in spinal cord injury
  35. Abstracts
  36. The role of the amygdala in sensory and emotional-like pain behavior in neuropathic animals
  37. Abstracts
  38. Peripheral and central pain mechanisms—From animal models to clinical research
  39. Abstracts
  40. Human experimental models of central sensitization—Do they bridge the gap between animal models and clinical observations?
  41. Abstracts
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  43. Abstracts
  44. Migraine neurobiology and treatment
  45. Abstracts
  46. Chronic headaches–Goals and obstacles
  47. Abstracts
  48. Trigeminal neuralgia and other cranial neuralgias
  49. Abstracts
  50. Temporomandibular disorders: Pathophysiology and diagnosis
  51. Abstracts
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  55. Abstracts
  56. Neuropathic pain—From guidelines to clinical practice
  57. Abstracts
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  59. Abstracts
  60. NSAIDs in postoperative pain
  61. Abstracts
  62. How should we prevent persistent postoperative pain?
  63. Abstracts
  64. Opioids: Genetics and receptors
  65. Abstracts
  66. Chronic pain and sleep disorders
  67. Abstracts
  68. Population-based studies on chronic pain: The role of opioids
  69. Abstracts
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  71. Abstracts
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  73. Abstracts
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  75. Abstracts
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  77. Abstracts
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  79. Abstracts
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  81. Abstracts
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  83. Abstracts
  84. Systematic review of neuropathic component in persistent post-surgical pain
  85. Abstracts
  86. Pain prevalence in a university hospital in Iceland
  87. Abstracts
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  89. Abstracts
  90. Na+/K+-ATPase dependent regulation of astrocyte Ca2+ signalling: A novel mechanism for modulation of long-term pain?
  91. Abstracts
  92. Glutamate attenuates nitric oxide release from isolated trigeminal ganglion satellite glial cells
  93. Abstracts
  94. Acute behavioural responses to tail docking in piglets – Effects of increasing docking length?
  95. Abstracts
  96. Dose and administration-period play a key role in the effect of ceftriaxone on neuropathic pain in CCI-operated rats
  97. Abstracts
  98. Translational aspects of rectal evoked potentials: A comparative study in rats and humans
  99. Abstracts
  100. Time-course of analgesic effects of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNTA) on human experimental model of pain induced by injection of glutamate into temporalis muscle
  101. Abstracts
  102. The effect of nerve compression and capsaicin on contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) related to Aδ and C fibers
  103. Abstracts
  104. Effect of specific trapezius exercises vs. coordination training on corticomotor control of neck muscles
  105. Abstracts
  106. SNP in TNFα T308G is predictive for persistent postoperative pain following inguinal hernia surgery
  107. Abstracts
  108. Chronic pain in thoracotomy
  109. Abstracts
  110. The variability in thermal threshold-assessments in post-thoracotomy pain syndrome
  111. Abstracts
  112. Persistent pain, sensory disturbances and functional impairment after adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer
  113. Abstracts
  114. Neuroplastic alterations in brain responses to painful visceral stimulations reflects individual neuropathic symptoms in diabetes mellitus patients
  115. Abstracts
  116. Exercise and conditioned pain modulation have different effects on cuff pressure pain tolerance in humans
  117. Abstracts
  118. Hyperalgesia in human skin and deep-tissues inside and outside of a UVB irradiated area
  119. Abstracts
  120. Effect of experimental jaw muscle pain on bite force during mastication
  121. Abstracts
  122. Reflex threshold assessment methodology for evaluation of central sensitisation is vulnerable to EMG crosstalk
  123. Abstracts
  124. Cognitive modulation of experimental pain at spinal and cortical levels
  125. Abstracts
  126. Influence of emotionally loaded visual and gustatory stimuli on pain perception
  127. Abstracts
  128. Modulating pain with augmented reality
  129. Abstracts
  130. Offset analgesia: A reproducibility study
  131. Abstracts
  132. Visualization of painful process in peripheral tissue using positron emission tomography and [11C]-D-deprenyl
  133. Abstracts
  134. Mirror-image sensory dysfunction in the post-thoracotomy pain syndrome
  135. Abstracts
  136. Genetic variation in opioid receptor genes and sensitivity to experimental pain in male and female healthy volunteers
  137. Abstracts
  138. Mechanical sensitivity in migraine patients during attack, remission, and pain-free periods:A preliminary study
  139. Abstracts
  140. Multivariate pattern analysis of evoked brain potentials by temporal matching pursuit and support vector machine
  141. Abstracts
  142. Pain following stroke: A prospective study
  143. Abstracts
  144. Chronic thoracic pain in children after cardiac surgery
  145. Abstracts
  146. Chronic pain after breast augmentation is associated with both signs of peripheral nerve injury and central nervous mechanisms
  147. Abstracts
  148. Sensory phenotypes in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain evaluated with quantitative sensory testing
  149. Abstracts
  150. Is health related quality of life related to the pattern of chronic pain?
  151. Abstracts
  152. Comparison between ropivacaine local infiltration analgesia with ketorolac or placebo for total knee replacement surgery
  153. Abstracts
  154. Treatment with topical capsaicin: Experience from a pain clinic
  155. Abstracts
  156. Distribution of concussion related symptoms after whiplash injury in risk strata
  157. Abstracts
  158. HIV/AIDS in different cultures
  159. Abstracts
  160. Pain perception is altered in patients with medication-overuse headache but can improve after detoxification
  161. Abstracts
  162. Detoxification in a structured programme is effective for medication-overuse headache
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