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Final Program


Final Congress Guide

Therapeutics

1000 Section - A Suzetrigine Story of the Novel Use of a Sodium Channel Blocker in the Management of Erythromyalgia: A Case Report

Wednesday, May 20, 2026
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM PT

    Presenting Author/Autor expositor(s)

  • AJ

    Agam B. Jagota, DO

    Resident Physician
    UTHealth Houston
    Houston, Texas, United States

  • GH

    Garrett H. Hayes, MPH

    Medical Student
    UT Southwestern Medical Center
    Plano, Texas, United States

    • Co-Author/Coautor(s)

  • GB

    Gregory Blazek, MD

    Resident Physician
    University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
    Houston, Texas, United States

    • Corresponding Author/Autor a quien dirigir la corr(s)

  • BB

    Brian Bruel, MD

    Attending Physician, Adjunct Professor
    UTHealth Houston
    Houston, Texas, United States

Case Diagnosis: Erythromelalgia

Case Description: JE is a 30-year-old male with a complex past medical history significant for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), peripheral neuropathy, allodynia, and erythromelalgia.  His erythromelalgia symptoms are present in his hands and knees characterized by intense redness, burning, heat, and pain with the temperature is above 70 °F and relieved by cold exposure. He is significantly debilitated by the symptoms and is largely confined to his bedroom where he is able to maintain a cold environment applying ice packs and a fan to his knees and hands. Patient has been unable to work as a result and due to his CFS sleeps roughly 16 hours a day.  In conjunction with his chronic opioid use, he was started on new oral therapy including Journavax. At 1 month follow-up he noted that initiation of new oral therapy improved his overall symptoms.

Discussions:

Erythromelalgia is a neurovascular pain syndrome characterized by recurrent and severe episodes of burning pain and erythema that is commonly triggered by heat and relieved with cooling. The mechanism of primary erythromelalgia is due to a gain of function mutation in the SCNA9 gene which encodes the NaV1.7 voltage-gated sodium channel which is highly-expressed in sympathetic ganglion neurons and dorsal root ganglions. The gain of function mutation in these channels lowers the threshold for activation and increases pain signaling in response to heat. Suzetrigine (Journavx) is a selective inhibitor of the NaV1.8 voltage-gated sodium channel, which is expressed in peripheral sensory neurons that transmit pain signals to the spinal cord and brain. Currently, suzetrigine’s only FDA approved indication is for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adults.

Conclusions: While on Suzetrigine, he did not experience flares of his erythromelalgia, suggesting NaV1.8 inhibition as a strategy for sustained relief from erythromelalgia symptoms.