Accelerated brain gray matter loss in fibromyalgia patients: Premature aging of the brain?
Accelerated brain gray matter loss in fibromyalgia patients: Premature aging of the brain?
复制标题
DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.0098-07.2007
复制
发表时间：
2007-04-11
影响因子：
5.3
通讯作者：
Bushnell, M. Catherine
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kuchinad, Anil;Schweinhardt, Petra;Bushnell, M. Catherine
纤维肌痛是一种顽固的广泛性疼痛障碍，最常在女性中被诊断出来。它传统上被归类为肌肉骨骼疾病或心理障碍。现在越来越多的证据表明，纤维肌痛可能与中枢神经系统功能障碍有关。在这项研究中，我们研究了与纤维肌痛相关的大脑解剖变化。采用基于体素的磁共振脑图像形态计量学分析方法，对10例女性纤维肌痛患者和10例健康对照的脑进行了检测。我们发现，与健康对照组相比，纤维肌痛患者的总灰质体积显著减少，并且表现出与年龄相关的灰质减少3.3倍。这些人患有纤维肌痛的时间越长，灰质的损失就越大，每一年的纤维肌痛相当于正常衰老时损失的9.5倍。此外，纤维肌痛患者在包括扣带回、岛叶和内侧额叶皮质以及海马旁回在内的几个脑区的灰质密度明显低于健康对照组。我们在纤维肌痛患者中看到的神经解剖学变化为中枢神经系统参与纤维肌痛提供了额外的证据。特别是，纤维肌痛似乎与大脑实质中与年龄相关的变化加速有关。此外，我们展示客观变化的区域可能在功能上与该疾病的核心特征有关，包括情感障碍和慢性广泛性疼痛。
Fibromyalgia is an intractable widespread pain disorder that is most frequently diagnosed in women. It has traditionally been classified as either a musculoskeletal disease or a psychological disorder. Accumulating evidence now suggests that fibromyalgia may be associated with CNS dysfunction. In this study, we investigate anatomical changes in the brain associated with fibromyalgia. Using voxel-based morphometric analysis of magnetic resonance brain images, we examined the brains of 10 female fibromyalgia patients and 10 healthy controls. We found that fibromyalgia patients had significantly less total gray matter volume and showed a 3.3 times greater age-associated decrease in gray matter than healthy controls. The longer the individuals had had fibromyalgia, the greater the gray matter loss, with each year of fibromyalgia being equivalent to 9.5 times the loss in normal aging. In addition, fibromyalgia patients demonstrated significantly less gray matter density than healthy controls in several brain regions, including the cingulate, insular and medial frontal cortices, and parahippocampal gyri. The neuroanatomical changes that we see in fibromyalgia patients contribute additional evidence of CNS involvement in fibromyalgia. In particular, fibromyalgia appears to be associated with an acceleration of age-related changes in the very substance of the brain. Moreover, the regions in which we demonstrate objective changes may be functionally linked to core features of the disorder including affective disturbances and chronic widespread pain.