Neuropathic pain in animals

Neuropathic pain, a wellknown condition in humans, originate from a primary lesion or dysfunction of the nervous system (NS). Common symptoms and signs are represented by spontaneous and evoked pain, allodynia, hyperalgesia, hyperpathia, autonomic dysfunction and sensory loss. Cats and dogs share a NS similar to that of humans. During surgery and in traumatic, inflammatory, neoplastic and metabolic disorders they also can encounter, like human beings, conditions affecting the NS and leading to neuropathic pain. If already difficult to recognize in humans, neuropathic pain is even more difficult to diagnose in animals, due to their incapacity to verbalize. Behavioural changes are often useful as a diagnostic aid. Once neuropathic pain is diagnosed, an appropriate therapy should be prescribed with directions for the owners to observe the behavior. Different classes of antalgic drugs should be considered, based on their mechanism of action within the pain pathway