NCT01596491

Study of Possible Changes in QST After Application of Capsaicin on Patients With Peripheral Neuropathic Pain

Kind and Duration of Possible Changes of the Sensory Profiles After the Topical Application of Capsaicin (8%) in Patients With Peripheral Neuropathic Pain

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 20 (actual)
• Sponsor: Ruhr University of Bochum · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The treatment of neuropathic pain ist still a challenge. A new promising therapy is the use of capsaicin on skin. The investigators first experiences with capsaicin in patients with peripheral nerve injury showed changes in the sensibility, which achieved its maximal extent after four weeks and was regressive, but not completely abolished 1,5 months after application. In this study the investigators hope to specify, how long and in which way exactly this changes in sensibility appear.

Detailed description

The topical application of a high dosage of capsaicin (8%) is a new promising approach. There is only little knowledge about the extent and the duration of drug-induced changes of detection and pain thresholds based on a currently recommended standardized quantitative sensory testing (QST). The assessment of QST changes would be an important step forward to understand the way of action as well as the time course of the presumed recovering of the C-fiber function after topical application of a high concentration capsaicin patch. 10 patients suffering from peripheral neuropathic pain due to peripheral nerve injury and 10 patients suffering from postherpetic neuralgia will be investigated by QST following the protocol of DFNS (German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain), using both thermal and mechanical nociceptive as well as non-nociceptive stimuli. QST will be performed at the following times: * at baseline * 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks later, and every two weeks at least until re-occurrence of pain and/or recovering of the capsaicin-induced worsening of the C-fiber function.

Conditions

• Peripheral Nerve Injury
• Postherpetic Neuralgia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	quantitative sensory testing (QST)	with QST the small-fibre function is tested by registering thermal and mechanical thresholds, so that changes in the sensory profile can by specified

Timeline

• Start date: 2011-04-01
• Primary completion: 2012-11-01
• Completion: 2012-11-01
• First posted: 2012-05-11
• Last updated: 2012-12-20

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Germany