Cao Zi-Min, Jia Jing-Nan, Liu Guo-Yun, Yang Ze-Qiu, Zhang Jing-Shi, Shi An-Qi, Chen Yi-Chao, Huo Jian-Wei, Zhang Ya-Nan, Liu Ni, Yan Chao-Qun, Wang Jun
Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Dongzhimen Hospital Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Department of Encephalopathy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
Eur J Pain. 2025 Nov;29(10):e70129. doi: 10.1002/ejp.70129.
Migraine is a neurovascular disease associated with significant morbidity and disability, but its underlying pathophysiology remains elusive. Functional alterations within the brain are frequently observed in individuals with migraine, whereas structural changes are less frequently documented. This study was primarily designed to investigate topological abnormalities in brain structural networks in patients with migraine using structural magnetic resonance imaging.
Graph theoretical analysis was used to compare global and regional topological properties of grey matter structural networks in 37 migraine patients and 44 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls. Structural correlation networks were constructed for both groups on the basis of measurements of grey matter volume.
A statistically significant difference was observed in the scores of Self-rating Anxiety Scales (SAS) and Self-rating Depression Scales (SDS) between migraine patients and healthy controls. The brain networks of patients exhibited significantly increased path length, decreased clustering coefficient, and small-worldness at the global level. At the regional level, brain regions with changes in node degree/betweenness centrality in migraine patients were predominantly located in the left cuneus, the left fusiform gyrus, the left precuneus, the right precentral gyrus, the right middle frontal gyrus, and the bilateral lingual gyrus.
The findings of this research indicate that the topological organisation is less efficient in individuals who experience migraine. This may provide new insight into the pathogenesis of migraine from a structural perspective.
Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000033995 SIGNIFICANCE: The present study addresses the central pathogenesis of migraine and shows at a structural level that global brain properties are altered in migraine patients and that regional properties of specific brain regions also show abnormalities. This provides new ideas and an objective basis for the future diagnosis and treatment of migraine.
偏头痛是一种与严重发病和残疾相关的神经血管疾病，但其潜在的病理生理学仍然难以捉摸。偏头痛患者经常观察到大脑内的功能改变，而结构变化的记录较少。本研究主要旨在使用结构磁共振成像研究偏头痛患者脑结构网络的拓扑异常。
采用图论分析比较37例偏头痛患者和44例年龄、性别和教育程度匹配的健康对照者灰质结构网络的整体和区域拓扑特性。基于灰质体积测量为两组构建结构相关网络。
偏头痛患者与健康对照者在自评焦虑量表（SAS）和自评抑郁量表（SDS）得分上存在统计学显著差异。患者的脑网络在整体水平上表现出路径长度显著增加、聚类系数降低和小世界特性。在区域水平上，偏头痛患者节点度/介数中心性发生变化的脑区主要位于左侧楔叶、左侧梭状回、左侧楔前叶、右侧中央前回、右侧额中回和双侧舌回。
本研究结果表明，偏头痛患者的拓扑组织效率较低。这可能从结构角度为偏头痛的发病机制提供新的见解。
中国临床试验注册中心，ChiCTR2000033995
本研究探讨了偏头痛的核心发病机制，并在结构水平上表明偏头痛患者的全脑特性发生改变，特定脑区的区域特性也显示异常。这为偏头痛的未来诊断和治疗提供了新的思路和客观依据。
