|
 INTRODUCTION
More and more articles are being published on RSD/CRPS
in the Canadian press. For a recent collection from the major
newspapers, please see Articles 2006-1994. Below is a small collection
illustrating the many faces of RSD.
EVIDENCE OF NERVE DAMAGE IN
CRPS1
January 30, 2006
Study finds nerve damage in previously mysterious
chronic pain syndrome Reduction in small-fiber nerves may underlie
complex regional pain syndrome-I (reflex sympathetic dystrophy)
BOSTON - Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have
found the first evidence of a physical abnormality underlying the
chronic pain condition called reflex sympathetic dystrophy or complex
regional pain syndrome-I (CRPS-I). In the February issue of the
journal Pain, they describe finding that skin affected by CRPS-I
pain appears to have lost some small-fiber nerve endings, a change
characteristic of other neuropathic pain syndromes
"This sort of small-fiber degeneration has been found in every
nerve pain condition ever studied, including postherpetic neuralgia
and neuropathies associated with diabetes and HIV infection," says
Anne Louise Oaklander, MD, PhD, director of the MGH Nerve Injury
Unit, who led the study. "The nerve damage in those conditions has
been much more severe,
Complex regional pain syndrome is the current name for a baffling
condition first described in the 19th century in which some patients
are left with severe chronic pain and other symptoms - swelling,
excess sweating, change in skin color and temperature - after what
may be a fairly minor injury. The fact that patients' pain severity
is out of proportion to the original injury is a hallmark of the
syndrome, and has led many to doubt whether patients' symptoms are
caused by physical damage or by a psychological disorder. Pain not
associated with a known nerve injury has been called CRPS-I, while
symptoms following damage to a major nerve has been called CRPS-II.
Because small-fiber nerve endings transmit pain messages and control
skin color and temperature and because damage to those fibers is
associated with other painful disorders, the MGH research team hypothesized
that those fibers might also be involved with CRPS-I. To investigate
their theory they studied 18 CRPS-I patients and 7 control patients
with similar chronic symptoms known to be caused by arthritis. Small
skin biopsies were taken under anesthesia from the most painful
area, from a pain-free area on the same limb and from a corresponding
unaffected area on the other side of the body. The skin biopsies
showed that, the density of small-fiber nerve endings in CRPS-I
patients was reduced from 25 to 30 percent in the affected areas
compared with unaffected areas. No nerve losses were seen in samples
from the control participants, suggesting that the damage was specific
to CRPS-I, not to pain in general. Tests of sensory function performed
in the same areas found that a light touch or slight heat was more
likely to be perceived as painful in the affected areas of CRPS-I
patients than in the unaffected areas, also indicating abnormal
neural function. "The fact that CRPS-I now has an identified cause
takes it out of the realm of so-called 'psychosomatic illness.'
One of the great frustrations facing CRPS-I patients has been the
lack of an explanation for their symptoms. Many people are skeptical
of their motivations, and some physicians are reluctant to prescribe
pain medications when the cause of pain is unknown," says Oaklander.
"Our results suggest that CRPS-I patients should be evaluated by
neurologists who specialize in nerve injury and be treated with
medications or procedures that have proven effective for other nerve-injury
pain syndromes." She adds that the next research steps should investigate
why some people are left with CRPS after injuries that do not cause
long-term problems for most patients, determine the best way of
diagnosing the syndrome and evaluate potential treatments. "Investigations
that identify the causes of disease are only possible if patients
are willing to come to the lab and allow researchers to study them,"
she adds. "We are tremendously grateful to these CRPS patients,
whose willingness to let us study them - despite their chronic pain
- allowed us to make an important step in helping those who suffer
from this condition." Oaklander is an assistant professor of Anaesthesia
and Neurology at Harvard Medical School.
The study was supported by grants from The Mayday
Fund, the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke,
and the American Federation for Aging Research. Coauthors are Julia
Rissmiller, Lisa Gelman, Li Zheng, MD, PhD; Yuchiao Chang, PhD;
and Ralph Gott, all of the MGH. Massachusetts General Hospital,
established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital
of Harvard Medical School.
Contact: Sue McGreevey (617) 724-2764
CHRONIC PAIN LINKED TO SPINAL
CORD PROTEIN
Wind blowing on skin or touch of a shirt is extremely painful
Discovery will help sufferers rebuffed for lack of physical
signs
ELAINE CAREY HEALTH REPORTER
Toronto Star Date: Thursday, December 15, 2005
Canadian scientists have discovered a protein that plays a key
role in causing debilitating, chronic pain that until now has never
been understood. "Some people can't wear shirts or they're not able
to go out because the touch of a breeze gives them lightning-like
pain," said Dr. Michael Salter, who heads the University of Toronto
Centre for the Study of Pain. "The worst part is that there's often
no physical sign that something's wrong. They're suffering intensely,
they get no relief from medications and their family and friends
don't understand." The discovery paves the way for developing new
ways of detecting and treating the chronic pain that affects thousands
of Canadians, says a study published yesterday in the scientific
journal Nature. Chronic or neuropathic pain is caused by nerve damage
brought on by an injury or illnesses such as cancer, HIV-AIDS or
diabetes, which causes changes in spinal cord cells called microglia.
"Once damaged, the scientists discovered that microglia
release a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor which
causes spinal neurons to send an abnormal signal to the pain-processing
networks in the brain. Microglia normally act to suppress pain signals
to the brain and spinal cord but the protein converts it into a
mechanism that amplifies them,"
said Salter, co-principal investigator with Dr. Yves De Koninck
of Laval University and a senior scientist at Sick Kids Hospital.
"One of the messages from this paper ... is that after
these kinds of injuries to nerves in your arm or leg or hand, you
can have changes in your spinal cord that can perpetuate pain and
actually intensify it long after the injury has healed," he said.
"This is an important discovery for the millions of Canadians
who suffer from debilitating chronic pain that cannot currently
be treated," said Michael Wilson, chair of NeuroScience Canada,
one of the funders of the research through the Brain Repair Program.
'If pain was spelled flu, it would already be considered an epidemic
in this country' Barry Ulmer, Chronic Pain Association
The discovery "represents an important shift that could soon provide
patients with effective treatments and allow them to be active again
in our society," Wilson said. Chronic pain is "a touchy subject"
because there are no obvious physical symptoms and sufferers are
often told they are making it up or faking it, Salter said. Even
strong painkillers don't suppress the pain because they work on
only some of the large pain-processing networks but not all of them,
he said. "Typically people with neuropathic pain get very little
pain relief from traditional painkillers like morphine or Aspirin
or acetaminophen," he said. For some people the pain is so acute
that even common events like wind blowing on the skin or the touch
of a shirt is extremely painful. When neuropathic pain attacks children
with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy, the pain is so excruciating
the treatment has to be stopped.
The discovery of how microglia communicate with nerve cells in
the pain- processing networks should help in developing drugs to
treat it, Salter said. And it could lead to a diagnostic test to
identify it. "You could go and have a test and show your physician:
`Look, there really is something wrong with me,'" he said. That
is a bigger issue in the United States where many chronic pain sufferers
can't get any health care benefits.
Barry Ulmer, executive director of the Chronic Pain Association
of Canada, said the findings were encouraging but were still only
at the laboratory stage and "it's got a long way to go. "If pain
was spelled flu, it would already be considered an epidemic in this
country," said Ulmer, whose wife suffers from chronic pain. "Anything
that comes forward that takes away from the subjective nature of
pain is helpful," he said. "Most people are stigmatized because
of it. Anything positive that comes along has to be a bonus."
If you change the way you look at something Something you look
at will change.
SOURCE: Toronto Star 2005. Thanks
for permission.
Science
Spots New Cause of Chronic Pain
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 (Health Day News) -- In a finding that could
alter pain treatment, British scientists have found that undamaged
nerve fibers, not injured ones, cause ongoing spontaneous pain.
The unexpected finding that may help in the development of new treatments
for back problems and other conditions that involve chronic pain.
Previous research into chronic pain focused on nerve fibers damaged
due to injury or illness, and largely overlooked intact nerve fibers.
"The cause of this ongoing pain and why it arises spontaneously
was not understood before," Sally Lawson, of the University of Bristol,
said in a prepared statement. "Now that we know the type of nerve
fibers involved, and especially that it is the undamaged nerve fibers
that cause this pain, we can examine them to find out what causes
them to continually send impulses to the brain. This should help
in the search for new analgesics that are effective for controlling
ongoing pain." The findings appear in the current issue of the Journal
of Neuroscience. Lawson and her colleagues identified nerve cells
called nociceptors (damage detectors) that, when activated by disease
or injury, send out electrical impulses that are sent to the brain.
The faster these undamaged nociceptors fire electrical impulses,
the stronger the ongoing pain. The firing of these nociceptors seems
to be caused by inflammation within the nerves or tissues, caused
by dying or degeneration of the injured nerve fibers within the
same nerve, the researchers said.
SUFFERING
STOLE HER CHILDHOOD
Ottawa Sun
For Ayala
Ravek, it was a spinning hockey puck that sent her life spiraling
in 1998. She was in Grade 5 and playing floor hockey when she was
struck in the leg.
When
she got home, her kneecap was twice its normal size. "The doctor
couldn't even touch me. As soon as he'd lay his hands on me, I'd
start yelling" Ravek says,
Yet
tests and scans on her knee found nothing.
"I
had doctors saying it's all in my head, that I need psychiatric
help, "she recalls.
"I thought I was crazy. I started to believe what they were
saying".
Eight
months later she was diagnosed by a pediatric neurologist at CHEO.
But it could have come sooner. Four months earlier, her uncle an
anesthetist has suggested to Ravek's parents that it might be RSD.
The chronic neurological syndrome is characterized by severe burning
pain, pathological changes in bone and skin, tissue swelling and
extreme sensitivity to touch. But when they suggested that to another
doctor, he dismissed it.
"It's
just an exaggerated response to pain." Ravek recalls him saying,
"He is kind of threw his hands up in the air, brushing it off".
Two
months later, after being struck, Ravek fell down a fight of concrete
stairs at school that left her with a shooting pain from head to
toe and throbbing that wouldn't quit.
She missed
the remainder of Grade 5, as well as a great deal of Grades 6,7,8
and had to repeat Grade 9.
"I
had to leave school and I was teased relentlessly."
It wasn't
just the pain that kept me from school, it was the people There
are still people from my old school I can't see".
Rumors
spread about what was wrong. Some said she was dying, others said
she was faking it.
Even a
supposed best friend once said:"I won't tell anyone if you're
faking it. Are you?"
Even today,
she says that isolated feeling is imprinted on her, and left her
wary of trusting others....
RSD is
said to be more painful than labour and Ravek describes it as a
"very intense toothache or migraine, but all over". Doctors
suspect Ravek may also have fibromyalgia.
In 2003,
things did get better for a short while. Once she was able to be
touched, she embraced alternative therapies, including Reiki, massage,
acupuncture, acupressure and creative visualization. She adopted
an organic diet and took up yoga. It allowed her to greatly reduced
her medications.
Things
were going very well until she developed endometriosis. Up until
then she had been at school almost every day and had taking up belly
dancing. but after laparoscopy in February 2004, Ravek didn't move
for a month.....Soon her depression crept back. She couldn't concentrate
and intense anxiety was setting in.
The pain's
return saw her spiral downward physically and put her back to living
in her bedroom. She developed an anxiety disorder and an eating
disorder.
Despite
her family being very close knit, Ravek withdrew and stopped talking
to her family. Last June, she was admitted to CHEO's psychiatric
ward in a deep depression.....Since then she has made progress.
For a long time her meds were locked in a safe, but she's reached
a point where she can now self-administer.
It's taken
seven years but she says she's found great doctors that have helped
her cope with her pain. Today she uses OxyContin to control it,
but recently got off five medications.
"I
still have a lot more but I know I need to be on these."
Family
therapy is also helping her become close with her siblings.....Over
time she's also started talking more to her parents.
"It's
still hard," Ravek says. "You lose touch with people.
I'm trying to regain those relationships. I isolated myself so much
because of the depression. I didn't want to see anyone and didn't
want to do anything. It's not the same relationship but we're rebuilding".
Excerpt from Source:Ottawa Sun October 17,
2005.
NOTE: PARC has stayed in touch with this beautiful, courageous
teenager since she was diagnosed with CRPS. We hope that she continues
to improve. Special thanks to Ayala for promoting awareness of CRPS,
telling her story and making others aware of the myths of CRPS.
FEMALE
FIREFIGHTER FINDS HOPE
FOLLOWING HAND INJURY
One year ago, Sheila Grady did something that would
change her life – something she regretted instantly. The Hamilton
firefighter injured her hand– not during a heroic rescue on
the job but rather during a typical day on her farm. In an attempt
to stop one of her horses from kicking, Sheila distractedly hit
the horse on the butt and shattered bone in her right hand. Surgeons
from Hamilton Health Sciences inserted pins into her hand to help
the shattered bone heal. However, shortly after, strange things
started happening to her hand. It became swollen and purple. She
could’t even touch her hand because her skin hurt so much.
She went to a multitude of doctors and specialists. Some suspected
she had Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) while others thought
she may have osteoporosis.
Ten weeks after Sheila’s injury, Dr. Gareth
Rhydderch from the Pain Management Centre at the General Hospital
confirmed Sheila had CRPS.
CRPS (formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
- RSD) begins with an injury, often a minor one to a limb, and becomes
a debilitating disorder. The sympathetic nervous system reacts to
the injury, causing the limb to swell, change colour and temperature,
and burn with pain. These symptoms result in decreased movement
of the limb. Dr. Rhydderch says the syndrome isn't’t
that common in the general population and there is still not a lot
known about the condition.
"It is difficult to standardize research
because patients come at varying stages of the disorder, with varying
severity, and cooperation varies as well,” said Dr.
Rhydderch.
One thing that is known is that early diagnosis
increases the chances of recovery.
Since Sheila was diagnosed within three months of
her injury, her chances of recovery were 80 per cent. Even so, Sheila
became depressed after reading negative accounts of CRPS on the
Internet, so to counter her fears, Dr. Rhydderch guaranteed her
that she would be cured. He made this guarantee to put Sheila in
a positive frame of mind, but he was also certain that she would
overcome her CRPS .Sheila spent five months in treatment. Twice
a week she would go to the Pain Management Centre(PMC) for stellate
ganglion blocks. These injections into her neck blocked nerve impulses
to her arm,causing temporary pain relief. She took advantage of
this temporary relief and went to the Hand Clinic, conveniently
located down the hall from the PMC, for therapy. The pain blocks
allowed Sheila and her therapists to work together to increase her
hand's passive and active range of motion.When Sheila first started
at the Hand Clinic, she couldn't move any of her fingers. Two occupational
therapists and a physiotherapist helped Sheila reeducate her muscles,
so she could return to normal patterns of movement. They measured
the strength and sensation in her hand and monitored her progress
so they could adjust her program accordingly.
“Seeing my progress really helped because
I felt like was actively doing something to advance my recovery,”
said Sheila.
While much of Sheila’s recovery can be attributed
to the Pain Management Centre and the Hand Clinic, she also spent
six to seven hours a day doing therapy at home.“Sheila’s
level of energy was phenomenal,” said Pam Ball, an occupational
therapist at the Hand Clinic.“Because Dr. Rhydderch does many
of his stellate ganglion blocks on the same day, and those patients
go to the hand clinic afterwards, the hand clinic is somewhat of
an informal support group,” said Ball.With this support group,
patients can exchange suggestions, stories, and a lot of hope for
each other .There is an overwhelming consensus that the unique relationship
between the PMC and the Hand Clinic is beneficial to patients with
CRPS.
“Patients get more out of therapy when
they’ve had a block,” said Dr. Rhydderch. “It’s
the best situation possible.”Since the clinics work so closely
together, both clinics and surgeons can refer patients to each other
at a fast and efficient rate."
“It’s kind of a triangle of service with
the patient in the middle,” said Ball.“They’re
all really interlinked now, and I think that has made a huge, huge
difference .”Today, Sheila is back at work as a firefighter,
and while one of her fingers is still a little stiff and swollen,
she is living a normal life again. She feels incredibly lucky that
she lives in Hamilton and didn’t have to travel across the
province, like some other patients, to be treated at Hamilton Health
Sciences.
If Sheila could send one message to those recently
diagnosed with CRPS, it would be:
“Fighting RSD is a full time job. Find a
doctor with the attitude and game plan to beat it. Couple that with
constant physical therapy, mental imaging and do whatever it takes
to keep you positive".
SPECIAL THANKS TO:Hamilton Health
Sciences Insider Newsletter SPRING ISSUE 2005
Thalidomide eases hellish pain syndrome
Medical Post, Toronto Apr 15, 2003
by: Jenny Manzer ISSN: 00257435(excerpt)
CHICAGO - Thalidomide appears to relieve pain in patients
with complex regional pain syndrome, a chronic neurological disease
also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSD).
Copyright Rogers Publishing Limited Apr 15, 2003
Rare glimmer of hope for sufferers of reflex sympathetic
dystrophy syndrome
CHICAGO - Thalidomide appears to relieve pain in patients with complex
regional pain syndrome, a chronic neurological disease also known
as reflex
sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSD).
If thalidomide proves to be useful, it will be a rare glimmer of
hope for sufferers of the syndrome, who can experience pain from
a normal stimulus, such as a slight breeze.
The syndrome usually develops in response to a traumatic event,
such as
an accident or a medical procedure. Even a minor injury such as
a sprain
can trigger the condition, causing nerves to misfire and sending
constant
pain signals to the brain.
Another calling card of the syndrome is pain and swelling disproportionate
to what would be expected from the inciting injury.
Dr. Joshua Prager, who presented one of three studies on thalidomide
here,
said most of his practice is made up of patients with the syndrome.
He said in the worst cases, patients will flinch when they walk into
the examination
room because of the draft from the door opening.
"The other thing is hypersensitivity to touch. Sometimes when
you see people
with RSD, they won't be wearing appropriate clothing, because they
can't
have clothing touch them," said Jim Broatch, executive director
of the
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association, based in Milford,
Conn.
"If you spoke to any physician here about the hardest pain
syndrome or disease to treat, they would say this," said Broatch. "We
have a tagline:
"If hell were a clinical, medical condition, it would
be called RSD."
Dr. Prager's study included nine of his patients, two men and seven
women,
who had endured the syndrome for at least two years. The group had
completed
a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program, but had residual pain
symptoms.
These patients completed one to three months of treatment, starting
with
50 mg of thalidomide at night. The dose was titrated in 50 mg increments
to a maximum of 300 mg each night, based on tolerability and response.
The mean dose was about 150 mg, said Dr. Prager, who practises at
the California
Pain Medicine Centres in Los Angeles.
The results of the small study were generally positive, with thalidomide
fairly well tolerated. Seven of the subjects experienced a two-point
or more decrease in their pain, as rated on the Visual Analog Scale
(zero for none and 10 for worst). The average decrease in pain was
about four points.
Two patients were able to dramatically reduce their use of pain
medication, and one bed-ridden patient was able to start performing normal daily
activities.
No patients experienced new or exacerbated peripheral neuropathy,
a known potential side-- effect of thalidomide. Side-effects included
moderate constipation and mild rash. Two patients had somnolence,
which was beneficial in their cases. One patient discontinued the
medication after a month due to weight gain.
Dr. Prager is a professor of anesthesiology at the University of
California at Los Angeles, and a specialist in anesthesiology, internal
medicine and pain.He said his findings provide a basis for a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled study of thalidomide to treat the
syndrome. Five of his study subjects are still taking thalidomide,
and have now been on the treatment for nine months. Three others
eventually stopped the drug due to constipation, which worsened
over time.
Dr. Prager said the mechanism of how thalidomide offers pain relief
for these patients is not known.
The exact number of people suffering from the syndrome is not known.
Dr. Prager said the incidence could be anywhere from 200,000 to
1.5 million in the U.S. "It's way underdiagnosed, unrecognized,"
he said.
Broatch said the findings on thalidomide were promising, but stressed
controlled studies are needed.". . . There's no hope out there
in a majority of cases, and this (thalidomide finding) is remarkable,
that even in this small number people actually had complete relief
for a number of months," he said.
Since the mechanism of the syndrome is not well understood, there
are no good treatments for it, he added. Existing treatments include
medications, physical therapy, nerve blocks, psychological support
or mplantable devices such as dorsal column stimulator or intrathecal
medication pumps. Dr. Prager decided to start his research after
reading a case study in the Archives of Internal Medicine in which
a multiple myeloma patient taking thalidomide had unexpected resolution
of complex regional pain syndrome.
Two other research teams were inspired by the 2001 study, and reported
their findings here. Their studies, which were also small and open-label
showed results similar to Dr. Prager's. One, from the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minn., involved 12 patients with longstanding complex
regional pain syndrome who had not responded to other interventions.
Researchers concluded that although thalidomide is poorly tolerated
in many patients, it shows potential for treating those who have
failed all other interventions, and placebo-controlled trials are
needed. A third study, from Drexel University College of Medicine
in Philadelphia, reached the same conclusion. While several of 13
subjects dropped out due to adverse events such as rash, three patients
who remained on thalidomide said it had provided life-altering benefits.
Thalidomide, branded in the U.S. as Thalomid, is available in Canada
through the special drug access program.
Excerpt from article. Reproduced with permission
of the copyright owner.
Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
TECTIN:
Nov. 30, 2003
TORONTO -- A tiny Canadian company wants to use poison from a fish
-- a substance more toxic than
cyanide -- to help cancer patients suppress pain or to wean heroin
addicts off their habit.
International Wex Technologies, a Vancouver-based company listed
on the small-cap Canadian Venture
Exchange, says early trials show positive results from tetrodotoxin,
although bigger and more extensive
tests will be needed before the product reaches the marketing stage.
It says the new drug could be on the market within three years,
if all the tests work out.
The new drug is derived from blowfish poison -- a substance so
dangerous that a mere trace can paralyze a person within minutes.
But the drug derived from the poison, tetrodotoxin, has already
passed two phases of clinical tests, and
doctors conducting early surveys say it eased pain in terminally
ill cancer patients, where no other pain
medication had worked.
"It quickly became apparent that some patients were having
a dramatic response. You would not have
expected these results in existing treatments," said Dr Edward
Sellers, a professor of pharmacology at the
University of Toronto who helped Wex conduct its Phase II trials,
a study of 22 patients.
Sellers said one patient in his mid-50s was in such agony that
he couldn't even wear his clothes without
sharp surges of pain.
But with shots of Tectin, Wex's patented name for tetrodotoxin,
his pain subsided for more than week.
Researchers injected patients with several micrograms of Tectin
-- a quantity so small it can't be seen
with the naked eye -- twice a day for four days, and found that
nearly 70 percent experienced a reduction in pain.
Pain relief began around the third day of treatment, and often
lasted after the final injection. In some
cases, the relief extended beyond 15 days, the study showed.
Tectin, a sodium channel blocker, stops nerves from sending pain
signals to the brain.
The company says Tectin differs from other painkillers in that
it doesn't have the same side effects as
morphine and its derivatives, doesn't interact with other medicines
and is not addictive. It is up to 3,200
times stronger than morphine.
The success of the early Tectin tests is a small coup for a company
that has set its sights on the $38
billion North American painkiller market, some 10 percent of which
comes from managing cancer pain.
Wex says that each puffer fish can provide about 600 doses of the
drug from within its liver, kidneys and
reproductive organs, so there is no shortage of the toxin.
"There is a resistance from the medical community to accept
treatments from the natural world," said
Rob Peets, an analyst with Golden Capital Securities. "If this
was a chemical product it would have been
snapped up a long time ago."
© Copyright 2003, Lycos, Inc.
PAINFUL
DISORDER A MYSTERY
Conference organizers hope to raise awareness
about RSD syndrome.
by Allison Lawlor, Standard Staff July 27, 2000 A6
The aim of a three day conference now under way in Toronto is
to shed light on an uncommon debilitating disease."There
is very little information on RSD." said Helen Small, a conference
organizer. "Doctors aren't educated, They don't know how
to recognize it or diagnose it."
The conference, which started today, is an effort to help provide
doctors with more information on Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Syndrome (RSD).Small expects between 100-150 people to attend
the three day meeting.The St. Catharines resident, who suffers
from the syndrome, is the Ontario contact for the Canadian RSD
Network. The Network, along with the RSD Association of Ontario.
and the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association of America,
organized the conference. Speakers include medical experts from
the US and Europe.
David Leprich, a St. Catharines chiropractor, will speak on
Saturday about how he treats patients with the debilitating disease."It
is not really a common condition," said Leprich, who treats
about three local residents with the syndrome. "It is not
something that can be cured."
The American RSD Association estimates the disease could affect
millions of people in the US.The disease, also known as Complex
Regional Pain Syndrome, is frequently the result of a minor accident
like a sprained ankle.Following the trauma, the affected body
part swells like it would under normal circumstances. But in people
who develop the pain syndrome, the body's reaction to the minor
accident is debilitating.The most common symptom of the disorder
is burning pain. Other symptoms include swelling, temperature
and color changes to the affected area, severe sweating and reduced
ability to use the affected area. Symptoms usually occur in a
limb but can also occur in other parts of the body such as the
face.
"The response is way out of sync with the injury,"
said Leprich. "Nobody has come up with a definite answer---why?"
The St. Catharines chiropractor treats a woman who developed the
disease after dropping a can on her foot. Excruciating pain spread
from her foot up through her leg to her hip," said Leprich.
"Chiropractic is good for maintaining and increasing motion
and helping a person to deal with pain," said Leprich. Leprich
usually treats a patient with the syndrome every three to six
weeks. Through manipulation, the soft tissue and nerves around
the joints relax and the pain is eased. Other treatments include
medication which blocks nerve impulses, pain management techniques
and physiotherapy to maintain muscle mass in the affected area.
Early diagnosis of the syndrome is essential, If a person is
not treated within six months of developing the disorder, it is
likely to spread and become a life-long, chronic aliment, said
Small. Following the conference, Small hopes to organize a support
group in Toronto for patients with the disorder. She believes
there are about two dozen sufferers in the city. If there is enough
interest, she also plans to start a group in St. Catharines.
(reproduced with permission from Doug Firby, editor
of the St. Catharines Standard)
RSD EXPERTS LAND HERE
Mississauga News: Community News: Southwest Edition Section
C
by Tom Michibata
Linda Dollimore's quality of life will never be the same. The
34 year old Mississauga resident has trouble performing keyboarding
functions at her job, because she has lost the feeling in her
thumb and first two fingers of her right hand.Away from the office
she can no longer play golf or baseball. She can't grip the club
or bat properly because she's lost the feeling in her right palm.She
can't sleep through the night, and she has become highly irritable.
She has trouble remembering things. Dollimore is one of the growing
number of Canadians who are afflicted with a little known but
debilitating nervous system disorder called Reflex Sympathetic
Dystrophy (RSD) that causes chronic pain. The sympathetic nervous
system controls bodily functions like perspiration.
The Canadian and US RSD Networks are jointly holding an international
conference this weekend (July 28-29) at the Marriott Hotel on
the airport strip at 901 Dixon Road.Information on current treatment
and the latest research developments will be discussed. Eight
doctors from the US, The Netherlands, and Ontario will speak and
conduct workshops.
Triggered by a trauma to the body--it could be surgery or even
a sprain--nerves in the sympathetic that are damaged leave the
victim with a chronic burning sensation, usually in the arm or
leg, according to St. Catharines chiropractor David Leprich, a
conference speaker."In severe cases, it can be disabling
pain. People uses canes or crutches and they are unable to carry
on a normal life. They may lose muscle mass and can develop osteoporosis"
Leprich said.
It's critical that people diagnosed with RSD get immediate treatment.
According to Dr Peter Veldman of Holland, who will be at the conference,
85 per cent of cases treated in the first six months are successful.
From six months to two years, the rate of successful treatment
drops to 70 per cent. Meanwhile, RSD can spread throughout the
body.
Dollimore is considered a rare case in that, while her treatment
was delayed--she was diagnosed with RSD after two years--she was
still able to eliminate the burning sensation that's associated
with RSD.In her case,it was triggered by a bite on her baby finger
from a pet mouse. She underwent surgery to have nerve cells removed.
"It used to feel like my hand was on fire. At times I felt
like chopping off the hand".
Canadian RSD Network President Mel Martin of British Columbia
says RSD isn't widely recognized in Canada. According to studies.
50 per cent of cases go undiagnosed because doctors don't know
what it is.Martin says one of every 1,000 Canadians suffers from
RSD.
(reproduced with permission)
MYSTERIOUS DISEASE LEAVES
PEOPLE IN PAIN
It's misdiagnosed because many doctor's don't know about it
by David Olmos, Special to the Star (article appeared in LA Times)
August 21, 1998. p. F8
A 21 year-old ballerina and actor with aspirations of a show-business
career, Cynthia Toussaint was stretching on a ballet barre when
she felt a sharp pain in her right leg. Doctors told her it was
a torn hamstring--- a common injury for dancers---that would heal
with time and rest. But as weeks passed, the pain didn't ease;
it grew steadily worse. She didn't know it at the time, but Toussaint
would see her injury result in a devastating illness that would
end her dreams of a career in the spotlight and, eventually leave
her disabled and relying on a wheelchair. It also began a harrowing
15 year encounter with a medical community that often fails to
properly diagnose and treat little-known illnesses. "I had
this wonderful life planned," says Toussaint of North Holly
wood, California. "After I got sick, I was left in this constant
, horrible pain and I knew it was all over."
Doctors say Toussaint has a controversial medical condition called
reflex sympathetic dystrophy, or RSD. Recently, doctors who specialize
in treating RSD have begun describing it by various other names,
including "complex regional pain syndrome, type 1".
The new name reflects still evolving research into the condition
and it causes, diagnosis and treatment. There is significant disagreement
about how to diagnose the illness, since there is no single test
that proves a person has RSD. "RSD is definitely underdiagnosed
because it is still not well-known," says Dr Joshua Prager,
a Santa Monica anesthesiologist and former director of the UCLA
Pain Medicine Center. "This condition was described in vivid
detail 130 years ago, but for some reason, it's still not taught
in medical schools." The condition often begins with an injury,
as minor as a sprained ankle or as traumatic as a broken leg.
An early warning sign is pain that does not go away and is more
severe than would be expected.
"There is an unbelievably dreadful burning pain and heat
associated with this condition," says Dr Michael Stanton-Hicks,
an RSD specialist who heads the pain center at the Cleveland Clinic
in Ohio. Swelling, unusual hair and nail growth, and changes in
skin temperature and texture near the site of the injury are some
of the other symptoms. One of the many mysteries of the disease
is how a relatively minor injury can touch off a devastating illness
in some people but not in others. A few researchers believe some
people may have a genetic predisposition to RSD. When diagnosed
early, and treated aggressively, RSD is often put into remission,
medical experts say. When left untreated for several months, or
longer, the likelihood of successful treatment falls off sharply.
In severe cases, patients suffer intractable pain that leaves
them bedridden. They are unable to tolerate the slightest touch,
even being covered by a bed sheet is excruciatingly painful. Muscles
and joints waste away, immune systems weaken and arms and legs
go into disfiguring contractions. Many patients must battle bouts
of depression; some commit suicide.
RSD patients describe years of being bounced among specialist
without a diagnosis or useful treatment, experts say. When patients
finally do find a doctor familiar with the disease, their condition
has often deteriorated to the point at which treatment is difficult,
expensive and ineffective. This leaves them angry and distrustful
of the medical system. "I've had some patients who have seen
20 doctors," says Dr. Edward Carden, a pain specialist at
Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Ingelwood, California. Many
patients are seen by orthopedists, "who do a nerve conduction
study that appears to be perfectly normal. Then they'll tell the
patient; 'Go see a psychiatrist "
Toussaint was a patient of Kaiser Permanente form the time of
her injury in 1982 until this past December. She was also covered
by the hospital's own health insurance plan. Pressing a malpractice
suit against Kaiser, Toussaint contends that a series of Kaiser
doctors failed to diagnose her condition and that the delay cause
her condition to steadily deteriorate to the point where she was
virtually bedridden. Kaiser doctors early on labelled her condition
as psychosomatic, saying that she was making it up, that she didn't
want to get well or had "tendinitis from Mars". Kaiser
contends that Toussaint suffers from "chronic pain syndrome"
but that her symptoms have a significant psychological component"
Dr. Angela Mailis, an RSD specialist who heads the pain center
at Toronto Hospital, says RSD has become a "wastebasket"
diagnosis to describe patients with a complex mix of physical
and psychological problems. In a three-year study published in
the Clinical Journal of Pain in 1994, Mailis and researchers at
the Toronto Hospital concluded that only 107 of the 206 Canadian
patients previously found to have RSD actually had a nervous system
disorder. The condition of the remainder had been misdiagnosed.
These patients were later found to have a variety of musculoskeletal,
psychiatric and other disorders.
Toussaint's condition was diagnosed by Carden of Centinela Hospital.
Her treatment includes painkillers, physical therapy, and psychiatric
counselling for depression. Tousssaint says she's now able to
walk, ride in a car and sit upright for short periods. She and
her partner of 17 years have been able to take short vacations.
"I've lived my life for so long looking out of the window",
Toussaint says, "I've gone from no quality of life to some
quality of life. Going into a restaurant used to be a dream to
me and now it's a reality."
(reproduced with permission)
QUICK CARE
ASSISTS CURE
Winnipeg Free Press January 30, 1995 p. C1
by Allison Bray
NOTE:Dear Readers: Be aware that the person depicted in this
article had early stage RSD/CRPS and therefore received treatment
within the first few months that are so crucial to treatment.
When it comes to treating RSD, proper diagnosis and treatment
can make the difference between almost complete recovery or lifetime
disability, according to health-care experts. Because reflex sympathetic
dystrophy can lead to irreversible damage, such as wasting of
the affected muscles, contraction of tendons and osteoporosis
- it is imperative that RSD be treated properly and as aggressively
as possible, says Dr. Howard Intrater, director of the pain clinic
at the Health Sciences Center. Cathy Watt, a HSC physiotherapist
specializing in hand injuries, says while physicians are becoming
increasingly aware of RSD, she sees about one patient a year who
was not initially diagnosed with RSD.
DEVELOPED RSD: Intrater cites the case of a native man in his
early 20s from northern Manitoba who developed RSD after getting
a bone stuck in a finger while cleaning a fish.The man never got
initial treatment, even though the symptoms persisted to the point
where he kept his hand in a glove for about six months to ward
off any stimuli that would trigger the burning pain. Eventually,
the man was flown to the HSC for treatment, but he wouldn't allow
doctors to insert an IV into his hand to provide drug treatment,
because the pain was so severe."He just went back up north,"
Intrater says. "He's still living as he was, with the glove
on his hand.
If it's not treated, it can result in the loss of a limb"
he says. But if the patient is seen during the first stages of
the disease, "with aggressive treatment and physiotherapy,
80 per cent of patients should have return of function".
"But if it's in the third stage, less than 50 per cent will
have a good response".
CAN RECUR: "RSD doesn't usually remain static, it either
improves or gets worse", he says.Even if a patient recovers,
RSD can recur if the patient has another injury or undergoes surgery.
Consequently, he says it's prudent for people who have experienced
RSD to have their sympathetic nerves frozen prior to surgery.
Medical treatments range from electrical stimulation to beta blockers,
epidural stimulators (where an electrode is implanted in the spinal
cord to stimulate the affected area) to blocking the sympathetic
nerves with injections, Intrater says. Acupuncture can also be
effective in decreasing pain and improving mobility. However,
Intrater says the main focus is to block the sympathetic nerves
from releasing pain signals. Watt says physiotherapy is also a
key element in successful treatment.
(reproduced with permission)
|
