The main purpose of this study is to compare the change in pain intensity during treatment with a sodium-channel blocker (lacosamide) in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain with and without the irritable nociceptor phenotype. As this is a mechanistic study, the main purpose is to compare the change in pain intensity in patients who receive an expected sufficiently effective dose of lacosamide. As supportive evidence for a drug-specific predictive biomarker, the purpose is also to compare the change in pain intensity during lacosamide vs. placebo for the two phenotypes.~We hypothesize that the sodium-channel blocker lacosamide will be more effective in patients with the irritable nociceptor than those without the non-irritable nociceptor phenotype, and that lacosamide is more effective than placebo in patients with the irritable nociceptor phenotype.
The main purpose of this study is to compare the change in pain intensity during treatment with a sodium-channel blocker (lacosamide) in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain with and without the irritable nociceptor phenotype.