We retrospectively reviewed the cases of fourteen patients who had reflex sympathetic dystrophy of the knee. All fourteen were hospitalized, and epidural block anesthesia was instituted with an indwelling catheter for an average of four days, during which continuous passive motion, manipulation (as necessary), stimulation of muscles, and alternating hot and cold soaks were used. The average len...

Since Mitchell’s classic description of brachial plexus causalgia resulting from gunshot wounds during the Civil War [6], numerous articles have appeared that have added to the clinicai iabeis for syndromes relating to dysfunction of the sympathetic nervous system. A number of terms, including reflex sympathetic dystrophy {RSD), minor causalgia, major causalgia, and Sudeck’s atrophy have been g...

OBJECTIVE The reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS) is a painful limb disorder, for which a consistently effective treatment has not yet been identified. The disease is associated with increased bone resorption and patchy osteoporosis, which might benefit from treatment with bisphosphonates, powerful inhibitors of bone resorption. METHODS Twenty patients with RSDS of foot and hand, wer...

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a relatively common disabling disorder of unknown pathophysiology. From a cohort of 52 patients, carefully selected to fulfill the recently formulated diagnostic criteria for RSD, venous blood samples were taken for typing of class I and II major histocompatibility antigens. The frequency of HLA-DQ1 was found to be significantly increased compared with cont...

We evaluated sympathetic nervous system activity by sympathetic skin response (SSR) recording and we further investigated sympathetic and opioid outflow indirectly in patients with features of reflex sympathetic dystrophy by measuring concentrations of plasma catecholamines (CAs) and their metabolites and plasma metenkephalin (ME), before and after corticoid treatment. Six patients were studied...

A blinded meta analysis was performed on randomized clinical trials (RCT) on the medicinal treatment of reflex sympathetic dystrophy (complex regional pain syndrome type I) to assess the methodological quality and quantify the analgesic effect of treatments by calculating individual and summary effect sizes. The internal validity of 21 RCTs was investigated and the quality weighted summary effe...

A child suffering from reflex neurovascular dystrophy (RND) who presented with a bizarre neurological picture is reported. RND is an extremely painful and disabling condition readily amenable to treatment. A striking feature is the localisation of pain and hyperaesthesia which do not follow a somatic dermatome distribution.

To investigate the channels and neurotransmitters in the ventrolateral medulla (VLM) oblongata that are responsible for the maintenance of sympathetic tone and cardio-respiratory reflex regulation. Microinjections of excitant amino acid (glutamate, 100 nl, 100 mM), calcium channel blockers, agonists and antagonists were made throughout the VLM in anaesthetized rats. Arterial blood pressure, sym...