Introduction: Patients with chronic pain frequently report cognitive symptoms that affect memory and attention, which are functions attributed to the hippocampus. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic neuropathic pain disorder characterized by paroxysmal attacks of unilateral orofacial pain. Given the stereotypical nature of TN pain and lack of negative symptoms including sensory loss, TN provides a unique model to investigate the hippocampal implications of chronic pain. Recent evidence demonstrated that TN is associated with macrostructural hippocampal abnormalities indicated by reduced subfield volumes; however, there is a paucity in our understanding of hippocampal microstructural abnormalities associated with TN.
Objectives: To explore diffusivity metrics within the hippocampus, along with its functional and structural subfields, in patients with TN.
Methods: To examine hippocampal microstructure, we utilized diffusion tensor imaging in 31 patients with TN and 21 controls. T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were segmented into hippocampal subfields and registered into diffusion-weighted imaging space. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity were extracted for hippocampal subfields and longitudinal axis segmentations.
Results: Patients with TN demonstrated reduced FA in bilateral whole hippocampi and hippocampal body and contralateral subregions CA2/3 and CA4, indicating microstructural hippocampal abnormalities. Notably, patients with TN showed significant correlation between age and hippocampal FA, while controls did not exhibit this correlation. These effects were driven chiefly by female patients with TN.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that TN is associated with microstructural hippocampal abnormalities, which may precede and potentially be temporally linked to volumetric hippocampal alterations demonstrated previously. These findings provide further evidence for the role of the hippocampus in chronic pain and suggest the potential for targeted interventions to mitigate cognitive symptoms in patients with chronic pain.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11037743 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PR9.0000000000001159 | DOI Listing |
Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova
December 2024
International University of Restorative Medicine, Moscow, Russia.
The trend of an annual increase in the detection of new cases of osteoarthritis (OA) and an increase in the number of patients with chronic lower back pain (LBP) calls for the search for new drugs and pharmaconutraceuticals with anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective properties. In 2019, approaches to the treatment of pain in OA significantly changed. In international and Russian clinical guidelines (CG), pharmaconutraceutical chondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine sulfate (GS) are recommended for OA of different localization as a basic therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Case Rep
December 2024
I Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, Norbert Barlicki Memorial Teaching Hospital No. 1, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
BACKGROUND Arterioportal fistulas (APFs) are abnormal connections between the arterial and portal venous systems, leading to portal hypertension (PH) and symptoms such as gastrointestinal bleeding, splenomegaly, and hepatic pain. Symptoms typically appear by the age of 2 years in about 75% of cases. CASE REPORT A 7-year-old boy with an asymptomatic APF developed life-threatening complications following a Clostridium difficile infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPain Pract
January 2025
Chief Medical and Quality Officer, Senior Vice President, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Eur J Pain
February 2025
Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
Background: Lung cancer surgery is associated with a high incidence of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP), which necessitates long-term analgesic prescriptions. However, while essential for managing pain, these have shown various adverse effects. Current guidelines recommend using peripheral nerve blocks over epidural anaesthesia for perioperative analgesia in minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Rheumatol Online J
December 2024
Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Room 06.9715, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.
Background: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is a chronic pediatric illness, whereby youth experience physical, emotional and psychosocial challenges that result in reduced health related quality of life (HRQL). Peer mentoring has been shown to improve disease self-management in adults with chronic conditions, with mixed results in younger populations. Building on our pilot work - which supported the feasibility and initial effectiveness of the iPeer2Peer program - the objective of this study was to assess the clinical effectiveness of the program in youth with JIA through a waitlist randomized controlled trial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!