Introduction. Chronic pain is a common problem for patients with Machado-Joseph disease. Most of the chronic pain in Machado-Joseph disease has been reported to be of musculoskeletal origin, but now there seems to be different chronic pain in patients with Machado-Joseph disease. Case presentation. A 29-year-old man (Han Chinese, Hoklo) with Machado-Joseph disease experienced severe chronic pain in both feet, cutaneous thermal change, thermal hypersensitivity, focal edema, and sweating and had a history of bone fracture. These symptoms were compatible with a diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome. After common analgesics failed to relieve his pain, gabapentin was added and titrated to 2000 mg/day (500 mg every six hours) in less than two weeks. This relieved 40% of his pain and led to significant clinical improvement. Conclusions: The pathophysiology of complex regional pain syndrome includes peripheral and central sensitizations, the latter of which might be associated with the neurodegeneration in Machado-Joseph disease. In this report, we suggest that gabapentin could inhibit central sensitization as an adjunct for complex regional pain syndrome in patients with Machado-Joseph disease. © 2011 Lo et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
CITATION STYLE
Lo, Y. C., Liao, K. K., Lee, Y. C., & Soong, B. W. (2011). Gabapentin for complex regional pain syndrome in Machado-Joseph disease: A case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-5-268
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