Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a severe neuropathic pain syndrome. The treatment of PHN is complex and refractory in some patients. We present two cases with refractory anterior abdominal wall pain due to PHN that were successfully treated with transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block. The TAP block seems to be an alternative for patients with PHN who suffer from anterior abdominal wall pain ac...

Aim: The causative agent of herpes zoster (HZ) is the reactivated varicella-zoster virus. HZ leads to severe and painful rashes that can be accompanied by long-term pain, i.e., postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). According International Association for Study Pain (IASP), post-thoracotomy pain syndrome (PTPS) defined as “recurrent or persistent along thoracotomy incision at least two months after surg...

A 74-year-old white man presented with unilateral radicular pain extending across the left side of his chest and back. A diagnosis of postherpetic neuralgia, a sequela of herpes zoster, was made. Herpes zoster represents a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus that lies dormant in patients with past chickenpox. Risk factors for the disease include advanced age, stress, immunodeficiency, an...

There have been 4 recent major advances in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) that are based on the results of randomized, controlled trials. These advances are the demonstrations that gabapentin, the lidocaine patch 5%, and opioid analgesics are efficacious in patients with PHN, and the report that nortriptyline and amitriptyline provide equivalent analgesic benefits for patients wi...

Treatment strategies for herpes zoster infection include limiting viral replication with anti-infective agents as well as limiting associated acute and chronic neuropathic pain with a variety of analgesics. The author outlines currently available pharmacotherapeutic options, from first-line (eg, anti-infective agents, tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, opioid analgesics, and topical ag...

An (alkene)peroxoiridium(III) complex, [Ir(L)(cod)(O(2))] [where LH = PhN=C(NMe(2))NHPh and cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene], was identified as an intermediate in the reaction of the Ir(I) precursor [Ir(L)(cod)] with O(2) and characterized by spectroscopic methods. Decay of the intermediate and further reaction with 1,5-cyclooctadiene produced 4-cycloocten-1-one.

the only anticonvulsant labeled for the treatment of both postherpetic neuralgia and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Valproic acid and topiramate are approved for the prevention of migraine headaches. Phenytoin is not frequently used to treat neuropathic pain due to its narrow therapeutic range, adverse effects and lack of demonstrated efficacy. In general, anecdotal reports have suggested that...

A 72-year-old female patient is presented, who was diagnosed with herpes zoster along the left ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve with associated cutaneous vesicles. The patient subsequently developed postherpetic neuralgia in the same dermatome, which, after remission, transformed into paroxysmal trigeminal pain. The two different symptom sets, with the former consistent with PHN and th...

Purpose This pilot study compared usual care alone with usual care plus meditation in relation to anxiety, depression, pain, and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). PHN may occur after shingles, and has been described as one of the most intractable neuropathic pain disorders. Older adults develop PHN more often than younger adults. Mindfulness m...

Herpes zoster, a biphasic disease with different kinds of pain is a challenge for pain therapy. The acute illness with mixed pain (nociceptive - neuropathic) requires antivirals for risk patients and pain treatment according to rules of acute pain therapy. For treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) an example of neuropathic pain, antidepressants, anticonvulsants and topical lidocaine are tod...