White matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patients
Chronic back pain (CBP) has extensive clinical and social implications for its sufferers and is a major source of disability. Chronic pain has previously been shown to have central neural factors underpinning it, including the loss of white matter (WM), however traditional methods of analyzing WM mi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-01-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage: Clinical |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158222003746 |
| _version_ | 1797869772559351808 |
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| author | Jason W. Robertson Guillermo Aristi Javeria A. Hashmi |
| author_facet | Jason W. Robertson Guillermo Aristi Javeria A. Hashmi |
| author_sort | Jason W. Robertson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chronic back pain (CBP) has extensive clinical and social implications for its sufferers and is a major source of disability. Chronic pain has previously been shown to have central neural factors underpinning it, including the loss of white matter (WM), however traditional methods of analyzing WM microstructure have produced mixed and unclear results. To better understand these factors, we assessed the WM microstructure of 50 patients and 40 healthy controls (HC) using diffusion-weighted imaging. The data were analyzed using fixel-based analysis (FBA), a higher-order diffusion modelling technique applied to CBP for the first time here. Subjects also answered questionnaires relating to pain, disability, catastrophizing, and mood disorders, to establish the relationship between fixelwise metrics and clinical symptoms. FBA determined that, compared to HC, CBP patients had: 1) lower fibre density (FD) in several tracts, specifically the right anterior and bilateral superior thalamic radiations, right spinothalamic tract, right middle cerebellar peduncle, and the body and splenium of corpus callosum; 2) higher FD in the genu of corpus callosum; and 3) lower FDC – a combined fibre density and cross-section measure – in the bilateral spinothalamic tracts and right anterior thalamic radiation. Exploratory correlations showed strong negative relationships between fixelwise metrics and clinical questionnaire scores, especially pain catastrophizing. These results have important implications for the intake and processing of sensory data in CBP that warrant further investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:18:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a39995d1f73d47b7ab92ad2763f07ca0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2213-1582 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:18:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage: Clinical |
| spelling | doaj.art-a39995d1f73d47b7ab92ad2763f07ca02023-03-16T05:04:00ZengElsevierNeuroImage: Clinical2213-15822023-01-0137103309White matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patientsJason W. Robertson0Guillermo Aristi1Javeria A. Hashmi2Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, 1276 South Park St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y9, Canada; Nova Scotia Health Authority, 1276 South Park St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y9, Canada; Corresponding author at: Room 4204, Dickson Building 1276 South Park St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y9, Canada.Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, 1276 South Park St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y9, Canada; Nova Scotia Health Authority, 1276 South Park St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y9, CanadaDepartment of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, 1276 South Park St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y9, Canada; Nova Scotia Health Authority, 1276 South Park St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y9, CanadaChronic back pain (CBP) has extensive clinical and social implications for its sufferers and is a major source of disability. Chronic pain has previously been shown to have central neural factors underpinning it, including the loss of white matter (WM), however traditional methods of analyzing WM microstructure have produced mixed and unclear results. To better understand these factors, we assessed the WM microstructure of 50 patients and 40 healthy controls (HC) using diffusion-weighted imaging. The data were analyzed using fixel-based analysis (FBA), a higher-order diffusion modelling technique applied to CBP for the first time here. Subjects also answered questionnaires relating to pain, disability, catastrophizing, and mood disorders, to establish the relationship between fixelwise metrics and clinical symptoms. FBA determined that, compared to HC, CBP patients had: 1) lower fibre density (FD) in several tracts, specifically the right anterior and bilateral superior thalamic radiations, right spinothalamic tract, right middle cerebellar peduncle, and the body and splenium of corpus callosum; 2) higher FD in the genu of corpus callosum; and 3) lower FDC – a combined fibre density and cross-section measure – in the bilateral spinothalamic tracts and right anterior thalamic radiation. Exploratory correlations showed strong negative relationships between fixelwise metrics and clinical questionnaire scores, especially pain catastrophizing. These results have important implications for the intake and processing of sensory data in CBP that warrant further investigation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158222003746Chronic back painCorpus callosumDiffusion MRIFixel-based analysisThalamusWhite matter |
| spellingShingle | Jason W. Robertson Guillermo Aristi Javeria A. Hashmi White matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patients NeuroImage: Clinical Chronic back pain Corpus callosum Diffusion MRI Fixel-based analysis Thalamus White matter |
| title | White matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patients |
| title_full | White matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patients |
| title_fullStr | White matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | White matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patients |
| title_short | White matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patients |
| title_sort | white matter microstructure predicts measures of clinical symptoms in chronic back pain patients |
| topic | Chronic back pain Corpus callosum Diffusion MRI Fixel-based analysis Thalamus White matter |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158222003746 |
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