FWD:RSD World News-RSD and Vitamin C research

byrd45 Fri Jan 09, 2009 12:29 am

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From: byrd45 (Original Message) Sent: 11/7/2006 2:23 PM
Vitamin C.
The only prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to examine the efficacy of administering free radical scavengers for the prevention of CRPS was reported using vitamin C. Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant that is reported to scavenge both hydroxyl radicals and superoxide radicals that produce hydroxyl and other free radicals. Zollinger et al. evaluated the efficacy of administering either 500 mg vitamin C or placebo daily for 50 days to 123 adults with 127 wrist fractures. These patients were treated conservatively without undergoing surgical intervention. The investigators reported a significant reduction in the incidence of CRPS in the vitamin C group (7%) compared with the placebo group (22%) at 1-yr follow-up (95% confidence interval for differences 2-26%). Cazeneuve et al. confirmed the benefits of vitamin C in a prospective nonrandomized study in patients with wrist fractures presenting for surgery. The authors evaluated 195 patients with isolated closed displaced fractures of the distal radius, which were reduced and stabilized by intrafocal pinning. One group included 100 patients who did not receive vitamin C supplementation. The second group included 95 patients who received vitamin C (1 g daily) for 45 days, starting on the day of fracture. The incidence of CRPS was five times lower in the vitamin C group (2.1% vs. 10%). This simple, safe, and inexpensive technique may have significant implications in the development of protocols for the prevention and management of CRPS. Future studies are necessary to determine the efficacy, dosage, and timing of administration of vitamin C in patients with CRPS and those surgical procedures that may be."

Anesthesiology: Volume 101(5) November 2004 pp 1215-1224 Preventing the Development of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome after Surgery
[Review Article]
Reuben, Scott S. M.D.*

Section Editor(s): Warltier, David C. M.D., Ph.D., Editor