2023-05-28 17:30:00
1.6% of the population has fibromyalgia, according to the Ministry of Health. This is, according to the definition of health insuranceof a “chronic condition, characterized by persistent diffuse pain and sensitivity to pressure often associated with severe fatigue, sleep disturbances, etc.”
Brain Change in Fibromyalgia Patients
A new study, published in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy, shows that these pains might modify certain areas of the brain in people with fibromyalgia. To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed the MRIs of 23 patients affected by this chronic condition. and 21 people who were not affected
Thus, the scientists observed a reduction in the volume of gray matter – which contains nerve cells and neurons in particular – in the areas that process pain. “In some regions responsible for pain inhibition, we found a decrease in gray matter in patients [atteints de fibromyalgie] compared to healthy individuals, says Benjamin Mosch, one of the researchers, in a communiqué. In these patients, the volume of these regions was significantly reduced.“
Reversible brain changes
The researchers also observed changes in the thalamus, an area of the brain also involved in pain processing. In fibromyalgia patients, there were white matter deviations – the area where signals and messages are transmitted between neurons and cells – which indicate impaired pain signals.
According to the researchers, the decreases in volume observed in certain areas were proportional to the level of pain perceived by the patients. On the other hand, they note that the reductions in volumes were not the same depending on the level of activity of the participants. In other words, the more active the patients were, the less these areas of the brain diminished. “Changes in the brain are not necessarily permanent, assured Benjamin Mosch. But they can be influenced, [ce qui signifie qu’]they might be reversible, for example [en adoptant] a daily life [plus] active.”
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