deafferentation pain

Introduction

Pain due to loss of sensory input into the central nervous system

Etiology

• lesions in peripheral nervous system
  • avulsion of the brachial plexus
  • peripheral nerve injury
  • trigeminal neuropathy
• lesions in the CNS
  • thalamic pain
  • brainstem infarction with bulbar pain

Pathology

• interruption of afferent nerve impulses (complete or partial)
• lesions that interrupt the spinothalamic pathways at any level of the nervous system

Clinical manifestations

• varying degrees of sensory loss
  • disturbances in pain & temperature sensation
• allodynia
• hyperalgesia
• dysesthesias
• hyperpathia

Laboratory

see specific etiology

Diagnostic procedures

• nerve conduction study (depending upon etiology)

Radiology

• magnetic resonance imaging (depending upon etiology)

Management

• see chronic pain & neuropathic pain
• motor mortex stimulation for intractable pain

More general terms

• pain [odyn-]