Pain relief and quality-of-life improvement after spinal cord stimulation in painful diabetic polyneuropathy: a pilot study

Abstract

SCS seems to be an efficacious and feasible treatment for intractable PDP. In this exploratory study, it was not possible to predict the treatment outcome using clinical sensory testing. These results justify performing a randomized clinical trial.

Spinal cord stimulation in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy: A multicentre randomized clinical trial

“…These sustainable results, comparable with previous case reports [3,7,13,21,24], in a patient population that has already received multiple other therapies, all with little success, suggest that it is unlikely that the pain reduction caused by SCS is merely a placebo effect. However, as with every form of treatment, placebo effects can never be ruled out completely.…”

“…Pain intensity and analgesic medication were reduced significantly up to 30 months after implantation. Similar encouraging results were found in a pilot study by Pluijms et al [21].…”

“…Previously, only small nonrandomized studies have investigated the effects of SCS in patients with PDN, although all had promising results [3,7,13,21,24]. The present study is, to our knowledge, the first randomized trial demonstrating that SCS therapy causes a highly clinical significant pain reduction in patients with refractory diabetic neuropathic pain.…”

“…A number of small uncontrolled studies have investigated the effects of SCS in patients with PDN, with encouraging results [3,7,13,21,24]. The study carried out by Tesfaye et al in 10 patients demonstrated significant pain relief for at least 1 year in 7 of them [24].…”

Spinal Cord Stimulation Alters Protein Levels in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Neuropathic Pain Patients: A Proteomic Mass Spectrometric Analysis

“…When drugs fail to give satisfactory pain relief, electrical neuromodulation by spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a treatment option for specific neuropathic (and ischemic) pain conditions. SCS has been used to treat neuropathic pain since the 1960s, can reduce the areas and intensities of neuropathic pain , helps 50–70% of eligible neuropathic pain patients , is safe , cost‐effective and has good long‐term efficacy .…”