These findings do not support the widely held view that autonomic disturbances in reflex sympathetic dystrophy are due to sympathetic overactivity. Rather, they suggest that sweating and changes in peripheral blood flow result from supersensitivity to sympathetic neurotransmitters. After injury, supersensitivity to noradrenaline may also contribute to spontaneous pain and allodynia by disrupting efferent sympathetic modulation of sensation. This would explain why pain and allodynia are relieved by sympathetic blockade, and why noradrenaline rekindles pain in sympathectomized skin.
REFLEX SYMPATHETIC DYSTROPHY: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERING PLASMA CATECHOLAMINE CONCENTRATIONS IN AFFECTED AND UNAFFECTED LIMBS
Brain, Vol. 114, No. 5, 2025-2036, 1991
© 1991 Guarantors of Brain