LEP

LEPs (Laser Evoked Potentials) are advanced methods of exogenous stimulation of the skin nerve endings using laser pulses. The study of LEPs is extremely useful in the analysis of painful syndromes of different origin, including those caused by peripheral neuropathies, myelopathies, cerebral infarction, post-herpetic neuralgia, trigeminal nerve neuralgia, temporomandibular dysfunction, fibromyalgia and headaches.

Numerous scientific publications have demonstrated that the recording and study of laser-evoked potentials is the most reliable method for assessing the nociceptive system as a whole, from the skin to the cerebral cortex.

This method exploits lasers capable of penetrating the skin in a targeted manner, without any risk or tissue damage. The cerebral responses to LEPs are correlated with the activation of the nociceptors Aδ (myelinic fibres with rapid conduction) and C (non-myelinic fibres with slow conduction). Laser stimulation is applied without any contact and without activating the low excitation threshold mechanoreceptors connected to the Aß fibres. Studies have shown that lasers are the only systems capable of achieving very short stimulation times (from 1 to 20 ms), producing perfectly clear and well-defined electrophysiological recordings of the LEPs.