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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Chronic Post-Ischemia Pain Model for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type-I in Rats
Published on: January 21, 2020
Increased plasma serotonin in complex regional pain syndrome type 1
Feikje Wesseldijk1, Durk Fekkes, Frank J Huygen
1Department of Anesthesiology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Background:
In patients with complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS1), some improvement can be achieved by the administration of ketanserin, a 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonist. We measured plasma levels of serotonin (5-HT) during CRPS1 and correlated these levels with disease characteristics.
Methods:
Plasma 5-HT was measured in 35 patients who had CRPS1 for 3 yr and compared with 35 age-matched healthy controls.
Results:
The plasma 5-HT levels were 411 +/- 263 nmol/L and 29 +/- 18 nmol/L, respectively (P < 0.001). No correlations with disease characteristics were observed.
Conclusions:
The markedly elevated levels of plasma 5-HT in CRPS1 patients suggest a role for 5-HT during the course of this disease. However, because of the lack of correlations with distinct disease characteristics, 5-HT is probably one of a number of mediators in CRPS1.
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