ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the morphological changes of whole brain gray matter in patients with postherpetic neuralgia(PHN),and evaluate the correlation between morphological changes of whole brain gray matter,visual analogue scale (VAS) and duration of PHN.Methods By using VBM-DARTEL method,firstly the 3D T1WI structure images of 17 patients with PHN and 17 normal control were preprocessed,then the segmented gray matter volume was compared between the two groups, and the correlation between difference of cerebral gray matter volume,VAS and duration of PHN were analyzed.Results Compared with the normal control, gray matter decrease in PHN group was found in bilateral orbital frontal regions(orbital gyrus,rectus gyri),left inferior frontal gyrus,left insular lobe, left caudate, right cingulate gyrus,left superior temporal gyrus, left cuneus, bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe and bilateral cerebellum anterior lobe.And gray matter increase in PHN group was found in bilateral superior frontal gyri, left middle frontal gyrus, vermis, pons.The gyrus volume change for two hemispheres was asymmetric (the left side greater than the right side).These different brain region changes in gray matter volume for patients with PHN were not correlated with VAS and duration of PHN.