Catecholamine-induced excitation of nociceptors in sympathetically maintained pain

Sympathetically maintained pain could either be mediated by ephaptic interactions between sympathetic efferent and afferent nociceptive fibers or by catecholamine-induced activation of nociceptive nerve endings. We report here single fiber recordings from C nociceptors in a patient with sympathetically maintained pain, in whom sympathetic blockade had repeatedly eliminated the ongoing pain in both legs. We classified eight C-fibers as...