Neuropathic cancer pain (NCP) is caused by nerve damage attributable to the cancer per se, and/or treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery; the prevalence is reported to be as ...high as 40%. The etiologies of NCP include direct nerve invasion or nerve compression by the cancer, neural toxicity, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. NCP is subdivided into plexopathy, radiculopathy, and peripheral neuropathies, among several other categories. The clinical characteristics of NCP differ from those of nociceptive pain in terms of both the hypersensitivity symptoms (burning, tingling, and an electrical sensation) and the hyposensitivity symptoms (numbness and muscle weakness). Recovery requires several months to years, even after recovery from injury. Management is complex; NCP does not usually respond to opioids, although treatments may feature both opioids and adjuvant drugs including antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and anti-arrhythmic agents, all of which improve the quality-of-life. This review addresses the pathophysiology, clinical characteristics and management of NCP, and factors rendering pain control difficult.
We performed a population-based study to determine the prevalence and incidence of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) in South Korea using data from the Korean Health Insurance ...Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) database.
Data recorded in the HIRA database between January 2016 and December 2020 were analyzed. The inclusion criteria in this study for patients with CIDP were a diagnostic code of G61.8 in the seventh and eighth revision of the Korean Standard Classification of Disease and a >3-month history of oral immunosuppressant use. The age-adjusted incidence rate and prevalence of CIDP in South Korea were also analyzed.
CIDP was newly diagnosed in 953 patients during the study period. The mean age at diagnosis was 58.36 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 1.74. The age-adjusted incidence rates were 0.22, 0.21, 0.23, 0.30, and 0.25 per 100,000 person-years in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. The age-adjusted prevalence was estimated at 1.16 per 100,000 persons in 2020. Age and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index were associated with the in-hospital mortality of patients with CIDP. Infection and cardiovascular disease (CVD) were also significantly associated with the in-hospital mortality of those patients. Acute-onset CIDP was initially diagnosed in an estimated 101 out of 953 patients with CIDP.
The prevalence and incidence rates of CIDP in South Korea were comparable between this nationwide cohort study and previous studies. Common comorbidities such as CVD and diabetes should be appropriately monitored in patients with CIDP to prevent a poor prognosis and socioeconomic burden.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by clinical features similar to those of acute myocardial ischemia, but without angiographic evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease. We present a ...patient with takotsubo cardiomyopathy following acute infarction involving the left insular cortex.
A 52-year-old man was admitted with acute infarction of the left middle cerebral artery territory and acute chest pain. Acute myocardial infarction was suspected because of elevated serum troponin levels and hypokinesia of the left ventricle on echocardiography. However, a subsequent coronary angiography revealed no stenosis within the coronary arteries or ballooning of the apical left ventricle.
We postulated that catecholamine imbalance due to the insular lesion could be responsible for these interesting features.
Congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMSs) are rare genetic disorders characterized by weakness and fatigue resulting from impaired neuromuscular transmission. Genetic testing can confirm the diagnosis ...for some types of CMS; however, variations in genotype, clinical phenotypes, age at disease onset, and responses to treatment make diagnosis very difficult. Here we present two adult patients who had significant decremental responses in repetitive nerve stimulation testing and multi-minicore pathology, and who responded to treatment with a cholinesterase inhibitor.
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