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Sunday 14 April 2013

Freezing Nerves Knocks Pain Out Cold


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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