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Brain morphological alternation in chronic pain patients with neuropathic characteristics
BACKGROUND: Neuropathic characteristics are highly involved in the development of chronic pain both physically and psychologically. However, little is known about the relationship between neuropathic characteristics and brain morphological alteration. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investig...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
SAGE Publications
2016
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4956386/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27284013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1744806916652408 |
Sumario: | BACKGROUND: Neuropathic characteristics are highly involved in the development of chronic pain both physically and psychologically. However, little is known about the relationship between neuropathic characteristics and brain morphological alteration. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of chronic pain development by examining the above-mentioned relationships by voxel-based morphometry in patients with chronic pain. METHODS: First, we assessed neuropathic characteristics using the painDETECT Questionnaire in 12 chronic pain patients. Second, to assess the gray matter volume changes by voxel-based morphometry, we conducted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. We applied multiregression analysis of these two assessment methods. RESULTS: There were significant positive correlations between painDETECT Questionnaire scores and the gray matter volume in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex and right posterior cingulate cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that neuropathic characteristics strongly affect the brain regions related to modulation of pain in patients with chronic pain and, therefore, contribute to the severity of chronic pain. |
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