Chronic idiopathic axonal neuropathy and pain, treated with the endogenous lipid mediator palmitoylethanolamide: a case collection

Abstract

Chronic idiopathic axonal polyneuropathy is a frequent diagnosis in patients suffering from idiopathic polyneuropathy and neuropathic pain. No guidelines exist on how to treat these patients. To date, there are no results available from randomized clinical trials, and mostly classical neuropathic analgesics are prescribed, such as amitriptyline and gabapentine. However, the usefulness of these drugs is limited, as many patients remain in pain despite treatment, or suffer debilitating side effects. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is a new analgesic compound, tested in more than 4,000 patients in various clinical trials in a variety of patients suffering from various neuropathic pain states. It is available in Europe and the USA as a food supplement under the brand name PeaPure, and it is available for medical purposes in Italy and Spain under brand names Normast and Pelvilen. We present a case series of seven patients with an electrophysiological confirmed diagnosis of chronic idiopathic axonal polyneuropathy, suffering from neuropathic pains, mostly refractory to previous analgesics. In all these patients, PEA reduced pain significantly, without side effects. PEA can be administered in addition to other analgesics, without negative drug–drug interactions, or can be used as a stand-alone analgesic. Due to a favorable ratio between efficacy and safety, PEA should be considered more often as a treatment for neuropathic pain.