Clinical features and pathophysiology of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome – current state of the art

By Johan Marinus, G. Lorimer Moseley, F. Birklein, R. Baron, Christian Maihöfner, W. Kingery, J. van Hilten. Lancet Neurology, 2011

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That a minor injury can trigger a complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) - multiple system dysfunction, severe and often chronic pain and disability - has fascinated scientists and perplexed clinicians for decades. However, substantial advances across several medical disciplines have recently increased our understanding of CRPS. Compelling evidence implicates biological pathways that underlie aberrant inflammation, vasomotor dysfunction, and maladaptive neuroplasticity in the clinical features of CRPS. Collectively, the evidence points to CRPS being a multifactorial disorder that is associated with an aberrant host response to tissue injury. Varying susceptibility to perturbed regulation of any of the underlying biological pathways probably accounts for the clinical heterogeneity of CRPS.

Subfields: Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pharmacology, Physiology

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