Using a tiny ball of ice, a minimally invasive interventional
radiology treatment called cryoneurolysis safely short circuits chronic pain caused by nerve damage,
according to data being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 38th Annual Scientific
Meeting in New Orleans.
“Cryoneurolysis could have big implications for the millions of
people who suffer from neuralgia, which can be unbearable and is
very difficult to treat,” said William Moore, M.D., medical director of
radiology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine in Stony
Brook, N.Y. “Cryoneurolysis offers these patients an innovative
treatment option that provides significant lasting pain relief and allows
them to take a lower dose of pain medication—or even skip drugs
altogether,” added Moore, an interventional thoracic radiologist at
Stony Brook.
More than 15 million Americans and Europeans suffer from
neuralgia, in which nerves are damaged by diabetes, surgery or
traumatic injury, Moore noted. Sufferers often rely on pain
medications, which have side effects and may not provide enough
relief. Cryoneurolysis uses a small probe that is cooled to minus 10 to
minus 16 degrees Celsius, creating a freezer burn along the outer layer
of the nerve. This interrupts the pain signal to the brain and blunts or
eliminates the pain while allowing the damaged nerves to grow over
time, explained Moore.
In the study, 20 patients received cryoneurolysis treatment for a
variety of neuralgia syndromes and were evaluated using a visual pain scale questionnaire immediately
after treatment during one-week, one-month and three-month follow-ups after the initial procedure. Prior to
treatment, patients’ pain plummeted from an average of 8 out of 10 on the pain scale to 2.4 one week after
treatment. Pain relief was sustained for about two months after the procedure. Pain increased to an average
of 4 out of 10 on the scale after six months due to nerve regeneration, Moore said. He recommends repeat
cryoneurolysis treatments as needed per patient, however, some patients will receive up to a year of pain
relief from a single treatment, he said.
In the treatment, an interventional radiologist makes a nick in the skin near the source of pain and
inserts a small probe about the size of an IV needle that is used to draw blood. Under imaging guidance, the
probe is advanced through the skin to the affected nerves. Cooled with pressurized gas, the probe creates
ice crystals along the edge of the nerves. “The effect is equivalent to removing the insulation from a wire,
decreasing the rate of conductivity of the nerve. Fewer pain signals means less pain, and the nerve remains
intact,” he explained. Additional comparative studies are needed, said Moore.
More information visit this link:http://www.sirweb.org/news/newsPDF/Release_30_Neuralgia_final.pdf
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