Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a group of progressive neurodegenerative diseases. These patients often suffer from pain with multiple etiologies. Our patient suffers from distressing neuropathic back pain, which was only marginally alleviated with high-dose conventional antineuropathic agents while suffering from the side effects. A course of scrambler therapy was prescribed, and sustained relief of neuropathic back pain was achieved for at least eight weeks after completion of scrambler therapy. This is the first case of neuropathic pain in SCA to be treated with scrambler therapy, to the best of our knowledge. Compared with usual daily scrambler therapy sessions, our patient received twice-daily sessions. The main takeaways from our case are that 1) scrambler therapy is a potential treatment for neuropathic pain in SCA patients; 2) it can treat neuropathic pain refractory to conventional antineuropathic agents with the added benefit of reducing the requirement as well as side effects associated with conventional antineuropathic agents; and 3) twice-daily sessions are a potential alternative to standard daily sessions with positive logistical implications.
Chan et al. (Mon,) studied this question.