Mechanisms of pain in multiple sclerosis: A combined clinical and neurophysiological study

Our data underline the clinical importance of pain in multiple sclerosis and indicate that a more severe disease is associated with a higher risk of developing neuropathic pain. The prevalence of pain that we found, which was lower than that reported in previous studies, may reflect the lesser disease severity in our patients. Neurophysiological data show that whereas ongoing extremity pain is associated with spinothalamic pathway damage, Lhermitte's phenomenon is related to damage of non-nociceptive pathways. These findings may be useful in designing a new therapeutic approach to neuropathic pain related to multiple sclerosis.