Neuropathic pain, Neuralgia

Neuropathic pain is defined as pain caused by a lesion or disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system, and may be generated by either the peripheral or central nervous system, or both. It is especially problematic because of its severity, chronicity and resistance to simple analgesics. It may result from various causes including cervical or lumbar radiculopathy, diabetic neuropathy, cancer-related neuropathic pain, postherpetic neuralgia, HIV-related neuropathy, spinal cord injury, trigeminal neuralgia and complex regional pain syndrome type II, among others. Treatments are generally palliative and include conservative nonpharmacologic therapies, drugs and interventional therapies such as spinal cord stimulation. Analgesic agents recommended for first-line treatments are gabapentinoids, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).