Li Meng, Yan Jianhao, Li Shumei, Wang Tianyue, Zhan Wenfeng, Wen Hua, Ma Xiaofen, Zhang Yong, Tian Junzhang, Jiang Guihua
Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong No. 2 Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, 510317, People's Republic of China.
Department of Neurosurgery, Guangdong No. 2 Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, 510317, People's Republic of China.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2017 Apr;11(2):486-492. doi: 10.1007/s11682-016-9529-2.
Accumulating evidence from brain structural imaging studies has supported that chronic pain could induce changes in brain gray matter volume. However, few studies have focused on the gray matter alterations of Trigeminal neuralgia (TN). In this study, twenty-eight TN patients (thirteen females; mean age, 45.86 years ±11.17) and 28 healthy controls (HC; thirteen females; mean age, 44.89 years ±7.67) were included. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we detected abnormalities in gray matter volume in the TN patients. Based on a voxel-wise analysis, the TN group showed significantly decreased gray matter volume in the bilateral superior/middle temporal gyrus (STG/MTG), bilateral parahippocampus, left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), caudate nucleus, right fusiform gyrus, and right cerebellum compared with the HC. In addition, we found that the gray matter volume in the bilateral STG/MTG was negatively correlated with the duration of TN. These results provide compelling evidence for gray matter abnormalities in TN and suggest that the duration of TN may be a critical factor associated with brain alterations.
来自脑结构成像研究的越来越多的证据支持，慢性疼痛可引起脑灰质体积的变化。然而，很少有研究关注三叉神经痛（TN）的灰质改变。在本研究中，纳入了28例TN患者（13例女性；平均年龄45.86岁±11.17）和28例健康对照者（HC；13例女性；平均年龄44.89岁±7.67）。使用基于体素的形态测量法（VBM），我们检测了TN患者的灰质体积异常。基于体素水平分析，与HC相比，TN组在双侧颞上/中回（STG/MTG）、双侧海马旁回、左侧前扣带回皮质（ACC）、尾状核、右侧梭状回和右侧小脑的灰质体积显著减少。此外，我们发现双侧STG/MTG的灰质体积与TN的病程呈负相关。这些结果为TN的灰质异常提供了有力证据，并表明TN的病程可能是与脑改变相关的关键因素。
