1. Notalgia Paraesthetica: A Descriptive Two-cohort Study of 65 Patients from Brazil and Germany.
- Author
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Huesmann, Timo, Cunha, Paulo R., Osada, Nani, Huesmann, Mario, Zanelato, Tiago P., Phan, Ngoc Quan, Gontijo, Gabriela M. Abreu, Marziniak, Martin, and Ständer, Sonja
- Subjects
RETROSPECTIVE studies ,NEUROPATHY ,RECOMBINANT proteins ,COMPARATIVE studies ,RADIOLOGY ,ETIOLOGY of diseases - Abstract
Notalgia paraesthetica is a neuropathic pruritus on the back. The aim of this retrospective study was to examine patient characteristics in a consecutive cohort from Brazil and Germany. A total of 65 patients (49 women, 16 men; age range 25-80 years, mean 56.2 ±12.7 years; median 57.0 years) were investigated in order to determine the spinal or peripheral origin of notalgia paraesthetica. Protein gene product 9.5-positive intraepidermal nerve fibers were significantly reduced in the pruritic compared with the non-lesional area (p<0.05). In 32.3% of patients, radiological examinations showed a stenosis and in 47.7% a degeneration. A correlation between the radiological findings and the exact dermatomal localization of notalgia paraesthetica was found in 15.7% of the involved areas. The significant reduction in intraepidermal nerve fiber density suggests that damage to the peripheral nerves is a more important aetiological factor than spinal changes in notalgia paraesthetica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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