Does the epidermal nerve fibre density measured by skin biopsy in patients with peripheral neuropathies correlate with neuropathic pain?

Abstract

The different neuropathic pain types (eg, ongoing burning pain and allodynia) are frequent and disabling complaints in patients with peripheral neuropathies. Although the reference standard technique for diagnosing painful small-fibre neuropathies is nerve fibre density assessment by skin biopsy, the relationship between the epidermal nerve fibre (ENF) density and neuropathic pain is still unclear. In a clinical and skin biopsy study designed to investigate whether changes in ENF density are directly related to pain, we enrolled 139 consecutive patients with distal symmetric peripheral neuropathy. All patients underwent clinical examination. The Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory was used to distinguish the different neuropathic pain types. A skin biopsy was conducted, and ENFs were immunostained with the antiprotein gene product 9.5, and their linear density was quantified with bright-field microscopy. No difference was found in ENF density between patients with and without neuropathic pain, nor between patients with and without ongoing burning pain. Conversely, ENF density was higher in patients with provoked pains (including mechanical dynamic allodynia) than in those without. The variable association between ENF density and symptoms of neuropathic pain supports the idea that neuropathic pain symptoms arise through distinct underlying mechanisms. The lack of relationship between ongoing burning pain and ENF density suggests that this type of pain reflects factors other than loss of nociceptive afferents. The association between ENF density and provoked pain (including mechanical dynamic allodynia) suggests that this type of pain might be mediated by spared and sensitised nociceptive afferents.