White matter microstructural alterations in patients with neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury: a diffusion tensor imaging study

This study investigates brain changes in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) who experience neuropathic pain (NP). Neuropathic pain is a type of chronic pain that occurs due to nerve damage or dysfunction. The goal was to understand the neural mechanisms behind neuropathic pain in SCI patients. The researchers used a special type of brain imaging called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to look at the white matter in the brains of SCI patients with and without neuropathic pain. DTI helps to visualize and measure the structure of white matter, which is important for communication between different brain regions. The study found that SCI patients with neuropathic pain had differences in specific white matter regions compared to those without neuropathic pain. These differences were mainly found in the corpus callosum, which is a large bundle of nerve fibers connecting the two halves of the brain.

• 1
  Patients with neuropathic pain (NP) after spinal cord injury (SCI) showed significantly higher fractional anisotropy (FA) in the posterior body and splenium of the corpus callosum compared to those without NP.
• 2
  Axial diffusivity (AD) was significantly higher in the NP group in several brain white matter tracts, including the corpus callosum, internal capsule, corona radiata, and others.
• 3
  No significant differences were found between groups when comparing complete vs. incomplete SCI, cervical vs. other SCI, normal vs. dysfunctional FIM scores, or disabling vs. non-disabling pain.