Alterations in brain structure and function in patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head: a multimodal MRI study

PeerJ

article

Jie Ma¹  Jia-Jia Wu²  Xu-Yun Hua³  Mou-Xiong Zheng⁴  Bei-Bei Huo¹  Xiang-Xin Xing¹  Sheng-Yi Feng⁴  Bo Li⁴  Jianguang Xu¹ 

[1] School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine;Center of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine;Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital ,(Shanghai Sunshine Rehabilitation Center), Tongji University;Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

关键词: Functional magnetic resonance imaging;    Diffusion tensor imaging;    Pain;    Functional plasticity;    Osteonecrosis of the femoral head;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.11759

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPain, a major symptom of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), is a complex sensory and emotional experience that presents therapeutic challenges. Pain can cause neuroplastic changes at the cortical level, leading to central sensitization and difficulties with curative treatments; however, whether changes in structural and functional plasticity occur in patients with ONFH remains unclear.MethodsA total of 23 ONFH inpatients who did not undergo surgery (14 males, nine females; aged 55.61 ± 13.79 years) and 20 controls (12 males, eight females; aged 47.25 ± 19.35 years) were enrolled. Functional indices of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and a structural index of tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were calculated for each participant. The probability distribution of fiber direction was determined according to the ALFF results.ResultsONFH patients demonstrated increased ALFF in the bilateral dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, right medial superior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and right supplementary motor area. In contrast, ONFH patients showed decreased ReHo in the left superior parietal gyrus and right inferior temporal gyrus. There were no significant differences in TBSS or probabilistic tractography.ConclusionThese results indicate cerebral pain processing in ONFH patients. It is advantageous to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to better understand pain pathogenesis and identify new therapeutic targets in ONFH patients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY