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Wang C, Kutch JJ, Labus JS, Yang CC, Harris RE, Mayer EA, Ellingson BM. Reproducible Microstructural Changes in the Brain Associated With the Presence and Severity of Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome ( UCPPS): A 3-Year Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study From the MAPP Network. J Pain 2023; 24:627-642. [PMID: 36435486 PMCID: PMC10676766 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2022.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Microstructural alterations have been reported in patients with urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS). However, it isn't clear whether these alterations are reproducible within 6 months or whether long-term symptom improvement is associated with specific microstructural changes. Using data from the MAPP-II Research Network, the current study performed population-based voxel-wise DTI and probabilistic tractography in a large sample of participants from the multicenter cohort with UCPPS (N = 364) and healthy controls (HCs, N = 61) over 36 months. While fractional anisotropy (FA) differences between UCPPS patients and HCs were observed to be unique at baseline and 6-month follow-up visits, consistent aberrations in mean diffusivity (MD) were observed between UCPPS and HCs at baseline and repeated at 6 months. Additionally, compared to HCs, UCPPS patients showed stronger structural connectivity (SC) between the left postcentral gyrus and the left precuneus, and weaker SC from the left cuneus to the left lateral occipital cortex and the isthmus of the left cingulate cortex at baseline and 6-month. By 36 months, reduced FA and MD aberrations in these same regions were associated with symptom improvement in UCPPS. Together, results suggest changes in white matter microstructure may play a role in the persistent pain symptoms in UCPPS. PERSPECTIVE: This longitudinal study identified reproducible, "disease-associated" patterns in altered mean diffusivity and abnormal microstructural connectivity in UCPPS comparing to HCs over 6 months. These differences were found in regions involved in sensory processing and integration and pain modulation, making it potentially amenable for clinical interventions that target synaptic and/or neuronal reorganization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chencai Wang
- Department of Radiological Science, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jason J Kutch
- Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jennifer S Labus
- Oppenheimer Center for the Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Claire C Yang
- Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Richard E Harris
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Emeran A Mayer
- Oppenheimer Center for the Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Benjamin M Ellingson
- Department of Radiological Science, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
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Fenske SJ, Bierer D, Chelimsky G, Conant L, Ustine C, Yan K, Chelimsky T, Kutch JJ. Sensitivity of functional connectivity to periaqueductal gray localization, with implications for identifying disease-related changes in chronic visceral pain: A MAPP Research Network neuroimaging study. Neuroimage Clin 2020; 28:102443. [PMID: 33027702 PMCID: PMC7548991 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies examining the resting-state functional connectivity of the periaqueductal gray (PAG) in chronic visceral pain have localized PAG coordinates derived from BOLD responses to provoked acute pain. These coordinates appear to be several millimeters anterior of the anatomical location of the PAG. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether measures of PAG functional connectivity are sensitive to the localization technique, and if the localization approach has an impact on detecting disease-related differences in chronic visceral pain patients. We examined structural and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) images from 209 participants in the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network study. We applied three different localization techniques to define a region-of-interest (ROI) for the PAG: 1) a ROI previously-published as a Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) coordinate surrounded by a 3 mm radius sphere (MNI-sphere), 2) a ROI that was hand-traced over the PAG in a MNI template brain (MNI-trace), and 3) a ROI that was hand-drawn over the PAG in structural images from 30 individual participants (participant-trace). We compared the correlation among the rs-fMRI signals from these PAG ROIs, as well as the functional connectivity of these ROIs with the whole brain. First, we found important non-uniformities in brainstem rs-fMRI signals, as rs-fMRI signals from the MNI-trace ROI were significantly more similar to the participant-trace ROI than to the MNI-sphere ROI. We then found that choice of ROI also impacts whole-brain functional connectivity, as measures of PAG functional connectivity throughout the brain were more similar between MNI-trace and participant-trace compared to MNI-sphere and participant-trace. Finally, we found that ROI choice impacts detection of disease-related differences, as functional connectivity differences between pelvic pain patients and healthy controls were much more apparent using the MNI-trace ROI compared to the MNI-sphere ROI. These results indicate that the ROI used to localize the PAG is critical, especially when examining brain functional connectivity changes in chronic visceral pain patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja J Fenske
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Douglas Bierer
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Gisela Chelimsky
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Center for Pediatric Neurogastroenterology, Motility, and Autonomic Disorders, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Lisa Conant
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Candida Ustine
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Ke Yan
- Division of Quantitative Health Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Thomas Chelimsky
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Jason J Kutch
- Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Bagarinao E, Johnson KA, Martucci KT, Ichesco E, Farmer MA, Labus J, Ness TJ, Harris R, Deutsch G, Apkarian VA, Mayer EA, Clauw DJ, Mackey S. Preliminary structural MRI based brain classification of chronic pelvic pain: A MAPP network study. Pain 2014; 155:2502-2509. [PMID: 25242566 DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2014.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2014] [Revised: 08/19/2014] [Accepted: 09/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have shown that changes in brain morphology often accompany chronic pain conditions. However, brain biomarkers that are sensitive and specific to chronic pelvic pain (CPP) have not yet been adequately identified. Using data from the Trans-MAPP Research Network, we examined the changes in brain morphology associated with CPP. We used a multivariate pattern classification approach to detect these changes and to identify patterns that could be used to distinguish participants with CPP from age-matched healthy controls. In particular, we used a linear support vector machine (SVM) algorithm to differentiate gray matter images from the 2 groups. Regions of positive SVM weight included several regions within the primary somatosensory cortex, pre-supplementary motor area, hippocampus, and amygdala were identified as important drivers of the classification with 73% overall accuracy. Thus, we have identified a preliminary classifier based on brain structure that is able to predict the presence of CPP with a good degree of predictive power. Our regional findings suggest that in individuals with CPP, greater gray matter density may be found in the identified distributed brain regions, which are consistent with some previous investigations in visceral pain syndromes. Future studies are needed to improve upon our identified preliminary classifier with integration of additional variables and to assess whether the observed differences in brain structure are unique to CPP or generalizable to other chronic pain conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Epifanio Bagarinao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, USA Department of Anesthesiology, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Department of Physiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer Family Center for Neurobiology of Stress, Pain and Interoception Network (PAIN), David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Radiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA
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