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=C2=BB Chron= ic=20 Pain
=C2=BB Chronic Pain Can Damage Brain

Share & Enjoy: = = =20 =20 =20

#1 Yesterday=20 01:19:14

gjzh<= /A>=20: Member=20; From: Northeast=20; Registered: 2008-02-08=20; Posts: 14=20; Website =

Chronic Pain Can Damage Brain

People who suffer chronic pain have constant brain activity in areas = of the=20 brain that would normally be at rest, according to a new study at = Northwestern=20 University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

The study suggests = chronic pain=20 changes the way information is processed in the brain, and the findings = could=20 explain why those who experience long-term pain frequently suffer other = symptoms=20 such as anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and difficulty making=20 decisions.

During the study, researchers used functional magnetic = resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of 15 people with chronic = low back=20 pain and 15 pain-free volunteers while both groups were tracking a = moving bar on=20 a computer screen. Although the pain sufferers performed the task well, = when=20 researchers measured areas of the brain activated, differences=20 emerged.

In the healthy brains all regions existed in a state of=20 equilibrium -- when one region was active, the others quieted down. But = in those=20 with chronic pain, a front region of the cortex mostly associated with = emotion=20 "never shuts up," said Dante Chialvo, the study=EF=BF=BDs lead author = and associate=20 research professor of physiology at the Feinberg School. The region was = stuck on=20 full throttle, wearing out neurons and altering their connections to = each other.=20

"The areas that are affected fail to deactivate when they = should,"=20 Chialvo said.

"Where we were surprised is the difference in how = much=20 brain they used to do the task compared with the healthy group. It was = 50 times=20 larger," Chialvo told Reuters.

This is the first demonstration of = brain=20 disturbances in chronic pain patients not directly related to the = sensation of=20 pain.

When certain parts of the cortex were activated in the = pain-free=20 group, some others were deactivated, maintaining a cooperative = equilibrium=20 between the regions. This equilibrium is known as the resting state = network of=20 the brain. In the chronic pain group, however, one of the nodes of this = network=20 did not quiet down as it did in the pain-free subjects. Instead, a front = region=20 of the cortex mostly associated with emotion is constantly active, = disrupting=20 the normal equilibrium.

The researchers said disruptions in this = default=20 network could explain why pain patients have problems with attention, = sleep=20 disturbances and even depression.

This constant firing of neurons = in=20 these regions of the brain could cause permanent damage, Chialvo said. = "We know=20 when neurons fire too much they may change their connections with other = neurons=20 or even die because they can't sustain high activity for so long," he = explained.=20

'If you are a chronic pain patient, you have pain 24 hours a = day, seven=20 days a week, every minute of your life," Chialvo said. "That permanent=20 perception of pain in your brain makes these areas in your brain = continuously=20 active. This continuous dysfunction in the equilibrium of the brain can = change=20 the wiring forever and could hurt the brain."

Chialvo = hypothesized the=20 subsequent changes in wiring "may make it harder for you to make a = decision or=20 be in a good mood to get up in the morning. It could be that pain = produces=20 depression and the other reported abnormalities because it disturbs the = balance=20 of the brain as a whole."

"These findings suggest that the brain = of a=20 chronic pain patient is not simply a healthy brain processing pain = information=20 but rather it is altered by the persistent pain in a manner reminiscent = of other=20 neurological conditions associated with cognitive impairments," the = researchers=20 wrote in their report.

Chialvo said the study=EF=BF=BDs findings = show it is=20 essential to research new approaches to treat patients not just to = control their=20 pain but also to evaluate and prevent the dysfunction that may be = generated in=20 the brain by the chronic pain.

The study was supported by the = National=20 Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and is published in the = Feb. 6,=20 2008, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/..._damage_brain/=

4/06 - Lumbar Fusion - L1 to S1 - Ant. w/ 8 cages & Post. w/ 2 rods = & 12=20 screws. 8/17/05 - Cervical Fusion - C4-5, 5-6, 6-7 - Ant. & = Post.=20 Fusion with plate in front & rods & screws in back. 1/4/05 - = Lumbar Lami=20 - L3 to S2 - Tarlov Cyst at S2.

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#2 Yesterday=20 10:32:32

kroza= rio2=20: New member=20; Registered: 2008-02-10=20; Posts: 3

Re: Chronic Pain Can Damage Brain

so are there any solutions? I am guessing that meditation could = help. we have a natural resistence to pain, but if we can accept = the pain=20 and and breathe through it, perhaps the brain wouldn't be so inundated = with=20 negative thought and essentially self-destructing. a little=20 light?

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#3 Yesterday=20 10:39:45

rhond= ab=20: Senior Member=20; From: Ohio=20; Registered: 2007-07-24=20; Posts: 298

Re: Chronic Pain Can Damage Brain

This article is very interesting. It makes sense. Do you know = if there=20 are any solutions????? 3Dsmile=20 =20 Rhonda

Fusion surgery on August 7,2007 .My L-5 ,and L-4 fused with hardware in=20 place. Scar tissue removed along with bone spurs.=20 Spondylythesis,spondylyosis. Finally after 15 years of suffering, had = the=20 surgery. I also have fibromyalgia,CFS,RLS, and osteoarthritis, and = sleep=20 apnea. "When Today is Not Good, Tomorrow Will Be Better."Pain,pain go = away, I=20 have had enough of you today"!

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#4 Yesterday=20 10:44:01

Poppy= Hurts2=20: Member=20; Registered: 2008-02-06=20; Posts: 19

Re: Chronic Pain Can Damage Brain

Chronic Back Pain May Shrink the Brain
Brain Cell Loss Is 10 to 20 = Times=20 That of Normal Aging

WebMD Medical News

Nov. 19, = 2004 =EF=BF=BD=20 If you=EF=BF=BDre one of the millions of people with chronic back pain, = scientists say=20 your brain may age up to 20 times faster than normal.
In the first = study of=20 its kind, researchers from Northwestern University have found that = chronic back=20 pain actually shrinks the brain by as much as 11%. Specifically, it = shrinks the=20 gray matter, which makes up the part of the brain responsible for memory = and=20 information processing.
It is well documented that chronic back pain = negatively impacts quality of life and increases anxiety and depression, = but it=20 has been assumed that any brain changes revert to a normal state after = the pain=20 stops, researcher A. Vania Apkarian writes in the Nov. 23, 2004 issue of = The=20 Journal of Neuroscience.
Apkarian and colleagues compared 26 healthy = volunteers with 26 patients who had chronic back pain in the lower = region for=20 more than a year. Some patients=EF=BF=BD pain radiated through the = buttock, thigh, and=20 leg =EF=BF=BD a sign of sciatic nerve damage, or sciatica. The source of = the pain was=20 not considered.
MRI brain images and other sophisticated imaging = tests,=20 which measured gray matter size, were performed on all patients. After = adjusting=20 for age and gender factors, scientists found that, overall, chronic back = pain=20 patients lost about 5%-11% of gray matter a year =EF=BF=BD about the = same as 10 to 20=20 years or normal aging, the researchers say. Typically, normal aging = results in=20 only about 0.5% of gray matter loss each year, they add.
Those with = chronic=20 back pain with sciatica had the largest decrease in gray matter. In = addition,=20 the more years someone has chronic back pain, the more brain loss they = suffered.=20
It=EF=BF=BDs possible that some of the brain shrinkage occurs = without substantial=20 nerve cell loss, suggesting that certain medications could potentially = help=20 reverse tissue shrinkage, says Apkarian, in a news release. =
What=EF=BF=BDs Behind=20 the Brain Shrinkage?
By definition, chronic back pain is a state of=20 persistent pain sensation with associated negative mood and stress, says = Apkarian. Therefore, one possible explanation for the decreased gray = matter is=20 that nerve cells are working overtime, he says.
The researchers = hypothesize=20 that as chronic back pain persists it may become more irreversible and = less=20 responsive to treatment due to these brain changes.

http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/news/200 =EF=BF=BD=20 rink-brain

gjzh,
Great article, this one is a bit dated, = but=20 relevant.

Poppy

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#5 Yesterday=20 21:00:12

gjzh<= /A>=20: Member=20; From: Northeast=20; Registered: 2008-02-08=20; Posts: 14=20; Website =

Re: Chronic Pain Can Damage Brain

Poppy,

This is a good article as well....I did not see this = one, but=20 is a bit frightening...I guess we should all be eating our blueberries = and doing=20 puzzles to ward off memory problems later down the road....

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#6 Today=20 07:50:38

rhond= ab=20: Senior Member=20; From: Ohio=20; Registered: 2007-07-24=20; Posts: 298

Re: Chronic Pain Can Damage Brain

I HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT TO ADD~ 3Dbig_smile=20 = This=20 article explains a lot of my behavior! 3Dlol=20 = =20 =20 Rhonda

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#7 Today=20 08:04:56

valer= ie1=20: Authority=20; Registered: 2007-09-01=20; Posts: 662

Re: Chronic Pain Can Damage Brain

All the more reason to aggressively control pain, wouldn't you = think? I=20 wonder if they studied people who had chronic pain, but had good control = with=20 pain medicaitons and other treatments that block the pain signals. = Seems=20 that it would make a difference if the brain is not engaged in receiving = pain=20 signals. As for meditation, it might make it easier to cope with the = pain or=20 ignore it, but I don't know that it would reduce these pain = signals...something=20 that should be studied too, I think.

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