Ortug Alpen, Reyes Nicholas, Galor Anat, Valdes-Arias David, Karakoleva Ema, Talbert Cameron, Pondelis Nicholas J, Pattany Pradip, Felix Elizabeth, Holmes Scott, Zurakowski David, Sessle Barry, Takahashi Emi, Moulton Eric A
Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States; Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Brain and Eye Pain Imaging Lab, Department of Anesthesiology Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital Boston, Pain and Affective Neuroscience Center, MA, United States.
University of Miami Health System Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, FL, United States; Surgical Services, VA Miami Healthcare System, Miami, FL, United States.
Neuroimage. 2025 Aug 15;317:121309. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121309. Epub 2025 Jun 18.
Noxious stimuli to the ocular surface are encoded by sensory axons of trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons and conveyed through the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (CN V1). We hypothesized that chronic ocular surface pain (COSP) may be associated with microstructural alterations of the trigeminal nerve structures. Our objective was to demonstrate the feasibility of using diffusion tractography to identify and analyze diffusion properties to assess TG microstructure in individuals with and without COSP. Forty COSP patients (27 males and 13 females; mean age: 56.2 ± 11.9 yrs; range: 34-77 yrs) and 17 controls without pain (15 males and 2 females; mean age: 55.4 ± 8.9 yrs, range: 37-66 yrs) were included in the study. Using 3T diffusion MRI (dMRI), we performed tractography to reconstruct TG and CN V1 with a generalized q-sampling imaging (GQI) algorithm. dMRI-based indices such as normalized quantitative anisotropy (NQA), fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were recorded for the right and left TG. TG (n = 45) were successfully reconstructed. Fourteen participants (11 COSP, 3 controls) were excluded because TG could not be clearly visualized. A significant decrease in NQA (p = 0.03), MD (p = 0.04) and RD (p = 0.04) were found in the left TG, but not in the right TG (p = 0.40; p = 0.58; p = 0.64 respectively), in the COSP group as compared to controls. Decrease in these metrics are generally interpreted as indicators of axonal loss and fiber integrity, suggesting the presence of fiber damage in the left TG of patients with COSP.
眼表的伤害性刺激由三叉神经节(TG)神经元的感觉轴突编码,并通过三叉神经的眼支(CN V1)进行传导。我们假设慢性眼表疼痛(COSP)可能与三叉神经结构的微观结构改变有关。我们的目的是证明使用扩散张量成像来识别和分析扩散特性以评估有和没有COSP的个体的TG微观结构的可行性。40例COSP患者(27例男性和13例女性;平均年龄:56.2±11.9岁;范围:34 - 77岁)和17例无疼痛的对照者(15例男性和2例女性;平均年龄:55.4±8.9岁,范围:37 - 66岁)纳入研究。使用3T扩散磁共振成像(dMRI),我们采用广义q采样成像(GQI)算法进行纤维束成像以重建TG和CN V1。记录左右TG基于dMRI的指标,如归一化定量各向异性(NQA)、分数各向异性(FA)、平均扩散率(MD)、轴向扩散率(AD)和径向扩散率(RD)。成功重建了45个TG。14名参与者(11例COSP患者,3例对照者)被排除,因为TG无法清晰可视化。与对照组相比,COSP组左侧TG的NQA(p = 0.03)、MD(p = 0.04)和RD(p = 0.04)显著降低,但右侧TG无明显变化(分别为p = 0.40;p = 0.58;p = 0.64)。这些指标的降低通常被解释为轴突丢失和纤维完整性的指标,表明COSP患者左侧TG存在纤维损伤。
Cephalalgia. 2025-7
Hum Brain Mapp. 2025-8-1
JAMA Ophthalmol. 2024-7-1
J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2024
JMIR Form Res. 2024-2-15