A procedure called cryoneurolysis, using tiny ice balls, can relieve chronic pain in patients caused by nerve damage, US scientists found, published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

According to a press release from the Society of Interventional Radiology at its 38th annual meeting in New Orleans, scientists' findings could help millions of people suffering from difficult-to-treat neuralgia..

“Cryoneurolysis offers these patients an innovative treatment that provides significant pain relief, allows them to take fewer painkillers, and may even be off medication altogether,” says William Moore of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine in New York..

More than 15 million Americans and Europeans suffer from neuralgia, in which nerve tissues are damaged by diabetes, as a result of trauma or surgery.. These people often rely on painkillers, which have side effects and may not provide enough relief.. Cryoneurolysis uses a small ball frozen at minus 10 to minus 16 degrees Celsius that results in " The drug is injected under the skin under visual control in the place of pain and under the action of compressed gas turns into ice crystals. This disrupts the transmission of the pain signal to the brain and alleviates or eliminates the pain..

“The effect is comparable to electrical isolation, allowing you to reduce the level of nerve conduction. If there are fewer pain signals, then there is less pain itself, and the nerve remains intact,” says Dr. Moore..

The researchers observed 20 patients with various types of neuralgia, who assessed their pain after a week, a month and three months after cryoneurolysis..

If before treatment, patients rated their pain at 8-10 points, then after a week the average score was 2.4. The relief lasted for about two months after the procedure.. Pain increased to an average of 4 out of 10 after six months, when the frozen nerve recovered.. However, some patients did not experience pain for a whole year after a single procedure..

Dr. Moore recommends repeating cryoneurolysis as needed, but says more comparative studies are needed..

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