Chronic pain in adults with sickle cell disease is associated with alterations in functional connectivity of the brain. PLoS One 2019;14(5):e0216994
Date
05/21/2019Pubmed ID
31107926Pubmed Central ID
PMC6527293DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0216994Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85066063764 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 20 CitationsAbstract
Chronic pain affects 50% of adults with sickle cell disease (SCD). Although central sensitization is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of this chronic pain, no studies have examined differences in functional connectivity of the brain between patients with SCD with and without chronic pain. We performed an observational cohort study using resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) of the brain on adults with SCD with and without chronic pain. We tested the hypothesis that, compared to those without chronic pain, those with chronic pain would have differences in functional connectivity between the periaqueductal grey (PAG) and other regions of the brain. Twenty-two adults with SCD, 15 with chronic pain and 7 without chronic pain, as well as 10 African-American controls, underwent rsfMRI of the brain. When SCD patients with chronic pain were compared to those without chronic pain, significant differences in connectivity were noted between the PAG and 9 regions of the brain, including several in the default mode network, a network involved in introspection that has been implicated in other chronic pain syndromes. Changes in functional connectivity between patients with SCD with and without chronic pain suggest a mechanism for chronic pain that involves neuro-plastic changes to the brain.
Author List
Karafin MS, Chen G, Wandersee NJ, Brandow AM, Hurley RW, Simpson P, Ward D, Li SJ, Field JJAuthors
Amanda Brandow DO Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of WisconsinJoshua J. Field MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Robert W. Hurley MD, PhD Adjunct Professor of Anesthesiology and CTSI in the Anesthesiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Pippa M. Simpson PhD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Anemia, Sickle Cell
Brain
Brain Mapping
Chronic Pain
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Nerve Net
Neural Pathways
Periaqueductal Gray
Rest
Young Adult
