RESUMEN
Objective:To establish the preliminary somatosensory data stratified by gender, age group, and sites in the trigeminal region through standardized quantitative sensory testing on healthy individuals, and to evaluate the effects of gender, age, and sites on somatosensory functions. Methods: The stan-dardised QST battery developed by the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain consists totally of 13 different parameters. A total of 70 healthy individuals participated. The subjects were stratified into two groups according to age: younger group ( 16 female, 16 male, age 24 -40 years old ) and elder group (20 female, 18 male, age 41-69 years old) . The test was performed bilaterally over the infraor-bital, mental, and hand regions. Results:The preliminary orofacial somatosensory data stratified by gen-der, age group, and sites were presented. Female were more sensitive than male for most of the parame-ters ( P<0 . 05 ) . Age had a significant effect on most of the parameters ( P<0 . 05 ) , the younger group was more sensitive compared with the elder group (P<0. 01) for heat pain threshold (HPT): younger group (38. 07 ± 2. 94) ℃, elder group (39. 85 ± 3. 52) ℃;warmth detection threshold (WDT):youn-ger group (1.40 ±0.74) ℃, elder group (1.89 ±1.14) ℃; mechanical detection threshold (MDT):younger group (0. 73 ± 1. 66) mN, elder group (1. 41 ± 2. 82) mN; pressure pain threshold ( PPT):younger group ( 171. 71 ± 92. 51 ) kPa, elder group ( 196. 36 ± 73. 73 ) kPa; cold pain threshold (CPT):younger group (25. 90 ± 5. 38) ℃, elder group (21. 64 ± 6. 78) ℃; cold detection threshold (CDT):younger group ( -0. 97 ± 0. 55) ℃, elder group ( -1. 36 ± 0. 90) ℃, and wind-up ratio (WUR):younger group (3. 33 ± 2. 20), elder group (2. 67 ± 1. 68). The inverse results were demon-strated for mechanical pain threshold ( MPT ): younger group ( 111. 50 ± 88. 93 ) mN, elder group (104. 49 ± 94. 94) mN;mechanical pain sensitivity (MPS):younger group (6. 96 ± 5. 61), elder group (8.93 ±6.53), and vibration detection threshold (VDT): younger group (7.44 ±0.52) scale, elder group (7.55 ±0.48) scale (P<0.05). Somatosensory function was site dependent (P<0.001), the two trigeminal sites ( infraorbital and mental) were more sensitive than the hand for CDT, HPT, WDT, thermal sensory limen (TSL), MDT, MPT, MPS, and PPT (P <0. 001), but the inverse result was observed for VDT ( P <0 . 001 ) . Conclusion: The preliminary orofacial somatosensory data of Han Ethnicity stratified by gender, age group, and sites were established. The study evaluated the effects of gender , age and sites on orofacial somatosensory functions by employment standardized quantitative senso-ry testing.
RESUMEN
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate and analysis facial somatosensory changes of patients with chronic masticatory muscle pain (MMP) quantitatively.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The seven parameters of standardized quantitative sensory testing (QST) protocol were used to test the pain sites, contralateral sites of masticatory muscles of 20 chronic MMP patients and the same sites of right masticatory muscles of 20 matched healthy controls. QST thresholds were compared within groups using paired t test and between groups using unpaired t test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared to the controls, all seven parameters of bilateral sides of patients had changed. Mainly cold detection thresholds [(-1.2±0.5) and (-1.7±0.9) °C] and cold pain thresholds [(27.6±2.3) and (27.0±2.0) °C] of pain and contralateral sides increased significantly, while warm detection thresholds [(2.0±1.1) and (2.1±1.2) °C], heat pain thresholds [(37.9±3.2) and (39.7±3.9) °C], and mechanical pain thresholds [(49.3±34.1) and (111.8±86.3) mN] of pain and contralateral sides decreased significantly (P<0.05). Mechanical detection thresholds of pain sites [(1.8±1.4) mN] significantly increased (P=0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Chronic MMP patients were detected thermal hyperesthesia, thermal hyperalgesia, and mechanical hyperalgesia. Mechanical hypoesthesia was found at the pain sites of masticatory muscles. Chronic MMP might influence the central modulation of trigeminal nerve system.</p>