Study analyzes brain changes associated with juvenile fibromyalgia


Date:
February 17, 2022
Source:
University of Barcelona
Summary:
Analyzing the brain changes that occur in the first stages
of juvenile fibromyalgia could help to better understand the
pathophysiology of this syndrome.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Juvenile fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by a chronic pain
affecting the whole body. It also causes fatigue as well as sleep
and mood disorders. It affects children and adolescents -- mainly
girls -- worldwide and it appears during a critical period of the brain development. Analysing the brain changes that occur in the first stages of juvenile fibromyalgia could help to better understand the pathophysiology
of this syndrome, which had not been approached from this perspective
to date.


==========================================================================
A study published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatologycharacterizes
for the first time the alterations in the grey matter volume in
adolescents affected by juvenile fibromyalgia, and it analyses its
functional and clinical relevance. The study contributes to identifying potential risk factors that will help testing the efficiency of different treatments to reverse these brain alterations. The new research is led by
the postdoctoral researcher Maria Sun~ol and the lecturer Marina Lo'pez
Sola`, from the research group Pain and Emotion Neuroscience Laboratory
of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro) of the University of Barcelona.

The study, which applies several neurophysiology study techniques, counted
on the participation of 34 adolescent girls affected by the pathology
and a control group of 38 healthy adolescents. The new research has been carried out in collaboration with the professors Susmita Kashikar-Zuck
and Robert Coghill, members of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital
(United States).

Juvenile fibromyalgia: brain, self-perception and emotions The study
reveals that the adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia have less grey
matter in the anterior-midcingulate cortex (MCC) region, a brain region
which is decisive for pain processing. This feature could be related to
the excessive engagement of brain circuits that process pain and it points
out to the existence of a reorganization with these neuronal circuits.

The most affected patients by the pathology -- and with more symptoms --
also show an increase of volume in the frontal regions of the brain that
is related to the creation of narratives about oneself and the emotional processing and regulation.

This increase in volume could reflect a certain immaturity in the
process of the development of frontal circuits involved with emotion and language. "These findings strengthen the need to consider therapeutic strategies aimed at modulating the activity in these circuits in order
to reverse the harmful narratives patients might feel about themselves,"
notes Maria Sun~ol, first author of the study.

It also states that some brain alterations associated with related to
juvenile fibromyalgia coincide with those identified in adult women
with fibromyalgia.

"This suggests that both syndromes share part of the pathophysiology,"
notes the lecturer Lo'pez Sola`. "Therefore, it is important to
promote the early and guided study of the pathology in adolescents in
order to prevent the transition from juvenile to adult fibromyalgia."
special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Barcelona. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Maria Sun~ol, Michael F. Payne, Han Tong, Thomas C. Maloney,
Tracy V.

Ting, Susmita Kashikar‐Zuck, Robert C. Coghill, Marina
Lo'pez‐Sola`. Brain Structural Changes during Juvenile
Fibromyalgia: Relationships with Pain, Fatigue and Functional
Disability.

Arthritis & Rheumatology, 2022; DOI: 10.1002/art.42073 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220217141203.htm

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