Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jin Zeng, Yuanyuan Yang
Summary: This case report presents two patients with damaged sensory nerves originating from visceral neurons of the lateral horn of the spinal cord. They experienced intractable, severe lower back and abdominal pain without rash or herpes. After excluding organic lesions, they were diagnosed with herpetic visceral neuralgia without rash. Treatment for HZ neuralgia was effective in both patients. The article highlights the importance of recognizing herpes zoster neuralgia without rash to prevent misdiagnosis.
Article
Anesthesiology
Dong-Yang Liu, Jin-Sheng Chen, Chu-Yan Lin, Qing-Juan Gong, Qing Zhao, Li Wan
Summary: Subcutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation is effective in treating trigeminal herpetic neuralgia following acute or subacute herpes zoster, and can significantly reduce the rate of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) occurrence.
CLINICAL JOURNAL OF PAIN
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ellen Wolff, Katarina Widgren, Gianpaolo Scalia Tomba, Adam Roth, Tiia Lep, Soeren Andersson
Summary: The study found that introducing varicella vaccination in Sweden was cost-effective, while vaccination against herpes zoster for the elderly was not. Future studies are needed to understand the impact of boosting on herpes zoster incidence and to include the link between herpes zoster and sequelae in health economic evaluations.
Review
Clinical Neurology
Hongli Zhang, Yong Zhao
Summary: Over the past two decades, there has been a gradual increase in publications on post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV), demonstrating significant advancements in academic achievements. Vaccines have proven effective in reducing PHN incidence among the elderly, but there is a lack of research on interventional treatments and underlying mechanisms. To elevate evidence-based medicine, researchers should conduct more controlled clinical trials. Additionally, leveraging pathogenesis research findings can lead to the development of better pain relief medications.
JOURNAL OF PAIN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Liu Liu, Wen-jing Zhang, Shu-xiang Xu, Wen-shuai Guo, Ran-ran Yan, Xiao-han Jiang, Shi-yao Li, Tao Sun
Summary: This study compared the efficacy and safety of short-term nerve electrical stimulation (st-NES) and pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) for Zoster-associated pain (ZAP). The results showed that st-NES was more advantageous in relieving pain and improving quality of life for ZAP patients than PRF.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Lin Zhao, Tao Song
Summary: Short-term high cervical spinal cord stimulation combined with peripheral nerve stimulation has shown promising results in treating trigeminal postherpetic neuralgia affecting the V2 and V3 divisions. A novel PNS approach to the maxillary nerve has also been demonstrated, providing potential new options for TPHN therapy.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Ryan R. Thompson, Christina L. Kong, Travis C. Porco, Eric Kim, Caleb D. Ebert, Nisha R. Acharya
Summary: The incidence rates of herpes zoster (HZ) have continued to increase in the United States, especially in age groups not recommended for HZ vaccines. Since 2007, there has been a decrease in HZ incidence rates in individuals <= 20 and >60 years old. The proportion of individuals with HZ who developed postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) was higher from 2007 to 2018 compared to 1994 to 2006.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
James F. Mbinta, Alex X. Wang, Binh P. Nguyen, Janine Paynter, Prosper Mandela A. Awuni, Russell Pine, Andrew A. Sporle, Colin R. Simpson
Summary: A study in New Zealand assessed the 'real-world' effectiveness of the zoster vaccine live (ZVL) against herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). The study found that the vaccine significantly reduced the risk of hospitalisation from HZ and PHN.
LANCET REGIONAL HEALTH-WESTERN PACIFIC
(2023)
Article
Anesthesiology
Michael Fetell, Manon Sendel, Thomas Li, Leslie Marinelli, Jan Vollert, Elizaeth Ruggerio, George Houk, Marilyn Dockum, Phillip J. Albrecht, Frank L. Rice, Ralf Baron
Summary: Skin biopsies from patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) showed no correlation between nerve fiber density and baseline pain, and concurrent loss of nerve fibers on the affected side was common. The role of Nav1.7 in PHN pain is still unclear.
Review
Virology
Peter G. E. Kennedy
Summary: Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV) is a pathogenic alpha herpes virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. In addition to shingles, VZV reactivation can lead to post-herpetic neuralgia and various other neurological conditions such as vasculopathy, giant cell arteritis, segmental motor weakness, myelitis, cranial nerve syndromes, Guillain-Barre syndrome, meningoencephalitis, and zoster sine herpete. However, the limited number of reported cases and the issue of causation when neurological conditions occur without the presence of a shingles rash complicate the field.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
James F. Mbinta, Alex X. Wang, Binh P. Nguyen, Janine Paynter, Prosper Mandela A. Awuni, Russell Pine, Andrew A. Sporle, Steve Bowe, Colin R. Simpson
Summary: This study assessed the risk of serious adverse events associated with the herpes zoster vaccine live using electronic health record data in New Zealand. The results showed that the vaccine is safe and does not increase the risk of certain complications.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Qiao Peng, Xuejiao Guo, Yang Luo, Guocan Wang, Lingyu Zhong, Jiamin Zhu, Yunze Li, Xun Zeng, Zhiying Feng
Summary: This study investigated the dynamic immune profiles and molecular mechanisms in patients with herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). The results identified two major immune signatures in NK, CD4(+), and CD8(+) T subsets in patients with HZ, which correlated with clinical pain-related scores. Furthermore, VZV-specific T cells were found to play an important role in the pathogenesis of PHN.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bing Li, Yayong Huang, Yong Zhang, Sushant Kumar Das, Chuan Zhang, Yang Li, Xiaoxue Xu, Hanfeng Yang, Yong Du
Summary: This study evaluated the location of thoracic DRGs through MRI scans and the impact of different puncture approaches on RFA. The study found that adopting tailored puncturing approaches to different DRG locations can significantly increase the RFA fraction.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Fen Peng, Tian-Bao Xia
Summary: The effects of intradermal BoNT-A injections on herpes zoster related neuralgia were investigated in this study. The results showed that BoNT-A injections significantly reduced herpetic-related pain and proved to be a more effective treatment for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) versus acute pain group. Moreover, an early application of BoNT-A can alleviate the probability of developing PHN.
INFECTION AND DRUG RESISTANCE
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Sylvain Chawki, Ana-Maria Vilcu, Cindy Etienne, Flora Finet, Thierry Blanchon, Cecile Souty, Thomas Hanslik
Summary: Drug-induced immunosuppression increases the risk of complicated herpes zoster and leads to longer-lasting post-herpetic neuralgia.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION
(2022)