Papers of the Week

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is related to microcirculation impairment caused by tissue hypoxia and peripheral cytokine overproduction in the affected human limb and chronic post-ischemic pain (CPIP) is considered as an animal model for this intractable disease. Previous studies suggest that the pathogenesis of CPIP involves the hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and an exaggerated regional inflammatory and free radical response. The inhibition of HIF-1α is known to relieve CPIP. So, propofol, as a free radical scavenger, is very likely to be beneficial in terms of relieving CPIP.