The life long burden of suffering from postherpetic neuralgia is reduced by adult vaccination and by topical anti-hyperalgesic treatment with lidocaine and capsaicin

摘要

In this issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Pain Ewa Gawecka and Oddbjern Viken review recent development in prevention and treatment of acute herpes zoster (shingles) and postherpetic neuralgia [1]. They review advances in symptom management in those unfortunate elderly patients who do develop acute herpes zoster and end up with a protracted and difficult to treat, often life long postherpetic neuropathic pain condition [1 ].Reactivation of the dormant varicella-zoster virus (VZV) after childhood chickenpox (varicella) in the dorsal ganglia causes acute herpes zoster (HZ) in about 1 per 100 elderly persons each year [1-3]. Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) follows HZ in about 20% [3]. Postherpetic neuralgia is a major cause for lost quality of life in elderly persons because of this peripheral and central neuropathic pain condition that has been so difficult to treat [3].