Intractable pain in a patient with adiposis dolorosa (Dercum's disease) was treated by IV administration of lidocaine (200 to 400 mg). Relief was maximum 20 minutes after the end of drug infusion and persisted for over 10 hours. Toxicity was minimal. Slow EEG waves which appeared during drug administration disappeared within 20 minutes.

Low-frequency (1.6-2.2 Hz) and weak-intensity electrical stimulation in the spinal extradural space produced complete to partial pain relief in a majority of patients (22 of 25) who suffered from intractable pain. Also it produced analgesia or hypoalgesia over a wide area of the body surface in 19 of the 25.

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