[CRPSbe]

"TREND (Trauma RElated Neuronal Dysfunction) is a consortium of Dutch medical and technical universities and industrial companies, in which research on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome type 1 (CRPS-1) is integrated. More recently TREND started successful collaborations with other medical research institutes in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.

Starting from a multidisciplinary approach TREND aims at combining strong points and expertise from several backgrounds in order to be able to offer an important contribution to the research within the domain of CRPS-1."


English version of the website:
http://www.trendconsortium.nl/home-en

[Mslday]

Daer CRPSbe,

Thanks for this very interesting link. Did you read about the study using intravenous magnesium?

24.08.09 - Pilot study with magnesium promising
In a pilot study at the vu medical center in Amsterdam 8 patients received intravenous magnesium for 4 hours per day for 5 days.

The rationale behind this treatment is that CRPS is associated with an excessive inflammatory response. The resulting pain could lead to hypersensitivity of the nervous system (central or peripheral sensitisation. The activation of certain receptors (NMDA receptors) within the nervous system seems to play a key role in this process.

The researchers hypothesised that magnesium deactivates the NMDA receptors and as a result, diminishes the pain. Previous research showed that intravenous magnesium leads to a decrease in pain in both acute and chronic pain patients.

The results of this study showed that the pain had diminished significantly. The same was true of the general impairment level of the patients. The patients reported an improvement in the quality of life. However, no improvement was reported in functional impairments (like walking and sitting down) and the skin sensitivity was the same after the treatment as before it. An additional positive finding was that the patients reported only minor side effects.

On the whole the results of this pilot study are promising. The use of magnesium seems to be an effective treatment for CRPS 1. Further research is necessary.

Read about this study in:
Collins S, Zuurmond WW, de Lange JJ, van Hilten BJ, Perez RS. Invravenous Magnesium for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I (CRPS 1) Patients: A Pilot Study. Pain Med 10:930-940.
[Abstract / Full text]

Hope you are well.

MsL

[CRPSbe]

Originally Posted by Mslday

Thanks for this very interesting link. Did you read about the study using intravenous magnesium?

Yep I did.

I am weary of any kind of study done on a mere 10 patients, though, like in this case. They say the results are promising, but I mean... how far along is their RSD? Are they newly diagnosed cases with mild RSD? Do they have a severe form? Are they 10- or 20-year RSD sufferers for whom nothing has worked much or were they quickly diagnosed? Knowing what patients participated, and what their RSD is like is valuable information, and something they should take into consideration more when doing studies like these.

[Mslday]

Originally Posted by CRPSbe

Yep I did.

I am weary of any kind of study done on a mere 10 patients, though, like in this case. They say the results are promising, but I mean... how far along is their RSD? Are they newly diagnosed cases with mild RSD? Do they have a severe form? Are they 10- or 20-year RSD sufferers for whom nothing has worked much or were they quickly diagnosed? Knowing what patients participated, and what their RSD is like is valuable information, and something they should take into consideration more when doing studies like these.

Yes, lots of good questions but I don't think it should be dismissed just because it is a small study. The authors concluded that the results are encouraging and suggest that magnesium IV as a treatment in CRPS 1 should be further explored in a large size formal trial design.

Personally I'm happy to see something being done regardless of the size of the study. A substance such as magnesium with far fewer side effects than many other drugs is attractive to me. The authors also stated;

Previous research showed that intravenous magnesium leads to a decrease in pain in both acute and chronic pain patients.

It's very encouraging to see an organization such as TREND supporting research for CRPS. Perhaps one day they will gain enough momentum and get more funding for further research.

Thanks for sharing

MsL