Neurochemical Analysis of Primary Motor Cortex in Chronic Low Back Pain

Brain Sciences

Neena K. Sharma⁶  William M. Brooks²  Anda E. Popescu⁵  Linda VanDillen¹  Steven Z. George³  Kenneth E. McCarson⁴  Byron J. Gajewski⁷  Patrick Gorman⁶ 

[1] Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA;Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA;Department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA;Hoglund Brain Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA;Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA;Department of Biostatistics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA;

关键词: chronic low back pain;    primary motor cortex;    magnetic resonance spectroscopy;    N-acetylaspartate;    myo-inositol;   

DOI  :  10.3390/brainsci2030319

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The involvement of the primary motor cortex (M1) in chronic low back pain (LBP) is a relatively new concept. Decreased M1 excitability and an analgesic effect after M1 stimulation have been recently reported. However, the neurochemical changes underlying these functional M1 changes are unknown. The current study investigated whether neurochemicals specific to neurons and glial cells in both right and left M1 are altered. N-Acetylaspartate (NAA) and myo-inositol (mI) were measured with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 19 subjects with chronic LBP and 14 healthy controls. We also examined correlations among neurochemicals within and between M1 and relationships between neurochemical concentrations and clinical features of pain. Right M1 NAA was lower in subjects with LBP compared to controls (p = 0.008). Left M1 NAA and mI were not significantly different between LBP and control groups. Correlations between neurochemical concentrations across M1s were different between groups (p = 0.008). There were no significant correlations between M1 neurochemicals and pain characteristics. These findings provide preliminary evidence of neuronal depression and altered neuronal-glial interactions across M1 in chronic LBP.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.