Electrical and pharmacological neuromodulation in patient with spinal cord injury pain (La neuromodulazione elettrica e farmacologica nel paziente con dolore post lesione midollare)

The authors present the different kinds of pain following the spinal cord lesions (neuropathic, nociceptive, somatic, visceral); they describe the alterations that occur on spinal cord, brain and periphery; the methods to define the kinds of pain and to evaluate the pain intensity; the strumental and pharmacological treatments for pain relief. In detail data on the efficacy of spinal neurostimulation are compared with data on the efficacy of baclofen intrathecally administered. Based on results of his studies and on international literature data, the authors conclude that efficacy of treatment with baclofen intratecally administered with a programmable pump is higher than spinal neurostimulation treatment.