Spinal cord injuries (SCI), usually a result from trauma, disease or degeneration, lead to a wide range of health complications depending on the severity of the injury and its location on the spinal cord.
One such complication is neuropathic pain, a type of chronic pain that is initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction of the nervous system. In patients with SCI, NP arises within the first few months after injury, is progressive for about 3-5 years before reaching a plateau and may persist for many years after the acute injury. Neuropathic pain has a substantial negative impact on patient function and quality of life and 17% of patients have health-related quality of life scores equivalent to “worse than death”.
Current treatments options are inadequate, commonly resulting in a reduction of only 20-30% in pain intensity and have significant side effects.