Chronic idiopathic axonal
polyneuropathy is a frequent diagnosis in patients suffering from idiopathic
polyneuropathy and
neuropathic pain. No guidelines exist on how to treat these patients. To date, there are no results available from randomized clinical trials, and mostly classical neuropathic
analgesics are prescribed, such as
amitriptyline and gabapentine. However, the usefulness of these drugs is limited, as many patients remain in
pain despite treatment, or suffer debilitating side effects.
Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is a new
analgesic compound, tested in more than 4,000 patients in various clinical trials in a variety of patients suffering from various
neuropathic pain states. It is available in Europe and the USA as a food supplement under the brand name PeaPure, and it is available for medical purposes in Italy and Spain under brand names Normast and
Pelvilen. We present a case series of seven patients with an electrophysiological confirmed diagnosis of chronic idiopathic axonal
polyneuropathy, suffering from
neuropathic pains, mostly refractory to previous
analgesics. In all these patients, PEA reduced
pain significantly, without side effects. PEA can be administered in addition to other
analgesics, without negative
drug-drug interactions, or can be used as a stand-alone
analgesic. Due to a favorable ratio between efficacy and safety, PEA should be considered more often as a treatment for
neuropathic pain.