Dear Vicc -

From what I understand, we're talking about truly massive levels of steroids here. And from what I've been advised by my rheumatologist, they've known for a while that a number of people with conditions presenting like RSD respond well to such dosages, it's just that they can't be maintained over time. As such, the idea is in finding anti-inflammatories that can be taken on a long term basis.

So I guess that, when I referred to this as "an honest to God treatment option," I could have oversold it, although the language of the story suggests otherwise.

That said, it was my assumption on reading the Boston Globe piece that the sort of "small fiber neuropathies" referenced in there was the same anomoly Dr. Oaklander found in CRPS-1 patients in the study that's posted on the RSDSA webpage. See, "Evidence of focal small-fiber axonal degeneration in complex regional pain syndrome-I (reflex sympathetic dystrophy)," Oaklander AL et al., Pain, 2006;120: 235-243 (showing a significant deduction epidermal neurite densities among CRPS-1 patients).

If anyone knows otherwise, please chime in.

Mike