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Kong Q, Li T, Reddy S, Hodges S, Kong J. Brain stimulation targets for chronic pain: Insights from meta-analysis, functional connectivity and literature review. Neurotherapeutics 2024; 21:e00297. [PMID: 38237403 PMCID: PMC10903102 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurot.2023.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques have demonstrated their potential for chronic pain management, yet their efficacy exhibits variability across studies. Refining stimulation targets and exploring additional targets offer a possible solution to this challenge. This study aimed to identify potential brain surface targets for NIBS in treating chronic pain disorders by integrating literature review, neuroimaging meta-analysis, and functional connectivity analysis on 90 chronic low back pain patients. Our results showed that the primary motor cortex (M1) (C3/C4, 10-20 EEG system) and prefrontal cortex (F3/F4/Fz) were the most used brain stimulation targets for chronic pain treatment according to the literature review. The bilateral precentral gyrus (M1), supplementary motor area, Rolandic operculum, and temporoparietal junction, were all identified as common potential NIBS targets through both a meta-analysis sourced from Neurosynth and functional connectivity analysis. This study presents a comprehensive summary of the current literature and refines the existing NIBS targets through a combination of imaging meta-analysis and functional connectivity analysis for chronic pain conditions. The derived coordinates (with integration of the international electroencephalography (EEG) 10/20 electrode placement system) within the above brain regions may further facilitate the localization of these targets for NIBS application. Our findings may have the potential to expand NIBS target selection beyond current clinical trials and improve chronic pain treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiao Kong
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Tingting Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Sveta Reddy
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Sierra Hodges
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Jian Kong
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
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Rohaj A, Bulaj G. Digital Therapeutics (DTx) Expand Multimodal Treatment Options for Chronic Low Back Pain: The Nexus of Precision Medicine, Patient Education, and Public Health. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:healthcare11101469. [PMID: 37239755 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11101469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Digital therapeutics (DTx, software as a medical device) provide personalized treatments for chronic diseases and expand precision medicine beyond pharmacogenomics-based pharmacotherapies. In this perspective article, we describe how DTx for chronic low back pain (CLBP) can be integrated with pharmaceutical drugs (e.g., NSAIDs, opioids), physical therapy (PT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and patient empowerment. An example of an FDA-authorized DTx for CLBP is RelieVRx, a prescription virtual reality (VR) app that reduces pain severity as an adjunct treatment for moderate to severe low back pain. RelieVRx is an immersive VR system that delivers at-home pain management modalities, including relaxation, self-awareness, pain distraction, guided breathing, and patient education. The mechanism of action of DTx is aligned with recommendations from the American College of Physicians to use non-pharmacological modalities as the first-line therapy for CLBP. Herein, we discuss how DTx can provide multimodal therapy options integrating conventional treatments with exposome-responsive, just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAI). Given the flexibility of software-based therapies to accommodate diverse digital content, we also suggest that music-induced analgesia can increase the clinical effectiveness of digital interventions for chronic pain. DTx offers opportunities to simultaneously address the chronic pain crisis and opioid epidemic while supporting patients and healthcare providers to improve therapy outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aarushi Rohaj
- The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, L.S. Skaggs College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Grzegorz Bulaj
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, L.S. Skaggs College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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Delgado-Gallén S, Soler MD, Cabello-Toscano M, Abellaneda-Pérez K, Solana-Sánchez J, España-Irla G, Roca-Ventura A, Bartrés-Faz D, Tormos JM, Pascual-Leone A, Cattaneo G. Brain system segregation and pain catastrophizing in chronic pain progression. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1148176. [PMID: 37008229 PMCID: PMC10060861 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1148176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain processing involves emotional and cognitive factors that can modify pain perception. Increasing evidence suggests that pain catastrophizing (PC) is implicated, through pain-related self-thoughts, in the maladaptive plastic changes related to the maintenance of chronic pain (CP). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have shown an association between CP and two main networks: default mode (DMN) and dorsoattentional (DAN). Brain system segregation degree (SyS), an fMRI framework used to quantify the extent to which functional networks are segregated from each other, is associated with cognitive abilities in both healthy individuals and neurological patients. We hypothesized that individuals suffering from CP would show worst health-related status compared to healthy individuals and that, within CP individuals, longitudinal changes in pain experience (pain intensity and affective interference), could be predicted by SyS and PC subdomains (rumination, magnification, and helplessness). To assess the longitudinal progression of CP, two pain surveys were taken before and after an in-person assessment (physical evaluation and fMRI). We first compared the sociodemographic, health-related, and SyS data in the whole sample (no pain and pain groups). Secondly, we ran linear regression and a moderation model only in the pain group, to see the predictive and moderator values of PC and SyS in pain progression. From our sample of 347 individuals (mean age = 53.84, 55.2% women), 133 responded to having CP, and 214 denied having CP. When comparing groups, results showed significant differences in health-related questionnaires, but no differences in SyS. Within the pain group, helplessness (β = 0.325; p = 0.003), higher DMN (β = 0.193; p = 0.037), and lower DAN segregation (β = 0.215; p = 0.014) were strongly associated with a worsening in pain experience over time. Moreover, helplessness moderated the association between DMN segregation and pain experience progression (p = 0.003). Our findings indicate that the efficient functioning of these networks and catastrophizing could be used as predictors of pain progression, bringing new light to the influence of the interplay between psychological aspects and brain networks. Consequently, approaches focusing on these factors could minimize the impact on daily life activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selma Delgado-Gallén
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Selma Delgado-Gallén,
| | - MD Soler
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
| | - María Cabello-Toscano
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciéncies de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Kilian Abellaneda-Pérez
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier Solana-Sánchez
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Goretti España-Irla
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alba Roca-Ventura
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciéncies de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Bartrés-Faz
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciéncies de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep M. Tormos
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Traslacional San Alberto Magno, Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, Valencia, Spain
| | - Alvaro Pascual-Leone
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Gabriele Cattaneo
- Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Medicina, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
- Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
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