Functional Brain Changes Due to Chronic Abdominal Pain in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case-Control Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Introduction: Various chronic pain conditions go along with functional and structural brain changes. This study aimed to investigate functional and structural brain changes by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients with chronic abdominal pain.

Methods: Sixty-four subjects were included in the final analysis (32 IBD patients with chronic abdominal pain; 32 age-matched and sex-matched controls).

Reduction of intra-abdominal pain through transcranial direct current stimulation: A systematic review.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique to modulate cortical excitability and to induce neuronal plasticity. With a wide range of applications in neurological and psychiatric disorders, the efficiency of tDCS is also studied in the treatment of various pain conditions. Treatment with tDCS might accordingly provide pain relief for patients with acute or chronic pain and thus lead to an increase in quality of life.

Transcranial direct current stimulation in inflammatory bowel disease patients modifies resting-state functional connectivity: A RCT.

Background: Chronic pain is known to be associated with functional and structural changes in the brain. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) presents with chronic abdominal pain in almost 35% of all patients. This study investigates structural and functional changes in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to ameliorate pain in IBD.