Brain Metabolite Changes in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex of Chronic Low Back Pain Patients and Correlations Between Metabolites and Psychological State

Objectives: In chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients, study of altered brain metabolites in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) could reveal the detailed pathology of CLBP and depression. The aim was to detect the central difference between CLBP and controls by means of measuring the metabolites in the ACC, and to analyze the correlations between depression and metabolites in ACC. Materials and Methods: MRS was performed in CLBP (n=60) and control participants (n=56) to evaluate the effects of CLBP on metabolites in the ACC and to analyze the correlations between metabolites and questionnaire scores in a cross-sectional study. Results: Adjusting for age and sex, a negative effect of CLBP on the N-acetylaspartate (NAA) level (estimated regression slope coefficient [B]=−0.685, P
Source: The Clinical Journal of Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research