Methadone in the treatment of neuropathic pain

Methadone, being an N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor antagonist, may have a potential role in the treatment of neuropathic pain. To evaluate the effect of methadone in the treatment of neuropathic pain and to estimate the possible dose ranges needed for pain control. Methadone was offered as a treatmen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pain research & management 2003, Vol.8 (3), p.149-154
Main Authors: Gagnon, Bruno, Almahrezi, Abdulaziz, Schreier, Gil
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Humans
Male
Methadone
Methadone - pharmacology
Methadone - therapeutic use
Middle Aged
Mononeuropathies - drug therapy
Mononeuropathies - physiopathology
Neurological disorders
Pain management
Pain Measurement - drug effects
Pain Measurement - methods
Pain, Intractable - drug therapy
Pain, Intractable - physiopathology
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Summary:Methadone, being an N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor antagonist, may have a potential role in the treatment of neuropathic pain. To evaluate the effect of methadone in the treatment of neuropathic pain and to estimate the possible dose ranges needed for pain control. Methadone was offered as a treatment option to consecutive cancer and noncancer patients with neuropathic pain. Pain intensity was measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS) (0-10 cm where 0 = no pain and 10 = worst possible pain). Mechanical allodynia and paroxysmal (shooting) pain were assessed clinically. All assessments were collected prospectively before treatment and once a stable dose of methadone was reached. A total number of 18 patients met our inclusion criteria. The mean pretreatment VAS +/- SD was 7.7+/-1.5 cm and this dropped significantly to 1.4+/-1.7 cm on a stable dose of methadone (P
ISSN:1203-6765
1918-1523
DOI:10.1155/2003/236718