Publications by authors named "K Kallio-Laine"
Background: Patients with widespread unilateral chronic pain associated with recurrent herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections show functional and/or structural changes in the insula, anterior cingulate cortex, frontal and prefrontal cortices, as well as the thalamus, suggesting central dysfunction of the pain system in these patients. Central pain has been associated with attenuated laser-evoked cortical responses. We aimed to clarify whether the observed deficient activation of these areas to acute nociceptive stimuli is due to a lesion at a lower level of pain processing pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecurrent lymphocytic meningitis (RLM) is a rare illness caused mostly by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Predisposing factors are not known. Deficiencies in immunoglobulin (Ig) G subclasses 1 (IgG1) and 3 (IgG3) and complement protein C4 are associated with susceptibility to and persistence of bacterial and viral infections.
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- The primary somatosensory cortex continually adapts based on sensory input, with changes linked to both increased training and loss of input due to nerve issues.
- Recent findings suggest that patients with chronic pain conditions, specifically related to herpes simplex virus, show significant alterations in their brain's somatosensory representation, particularly on the side of the body that experiences pain.
- These results imply that cortical reorganization may be a common factor in chronic neuropathic pain, regardless of the underlying cause, and further research is needed to explore its implications for treatment.
We found the prevalence of recurrent lymphocytic meningitis associated with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) was 2.2/100,000 population in Finland during 1996-2006, higher than previous estimates. PCR was most sensitive in detecting HSV-2 DNA from cerebrospinal fluid if the sample was taken 2-5 days after symptom onset.
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- A recent study identified a group of patients with spontaneous chronic pain and frequent HSV infections, linked to subtle immunological issues.
- The study monitored central pain processing in these patients and healthy controls using fMRI, revealing weaker activation in pain-related brain regions for the patient group.
- Structural changes were also noted, with decreased gray matter density in the patients' frontal, prefrontal, and anterior cingulate cortices, supporting the idea of central nervous system involvement in their chronic pain.