Chronic low back pain and sick-leave: a functional magnetic resonance study

Abstract Background Chronic low back pain (CLBP) represents a problem in the occupational environment, often associated with disability, sick-leave demands, loss of productivity, anxiety, depression and high socioeconomic cost. The emergence of functional neuroimaging allowed new insights into brain structure and physiology in normality and chronic pain. While occupational related aspects are recognized as important risk factors for chronicity there have not been thus far evaluated by fMRI experiments. The overall objective of this study is to compare the neuronal correlates between groups of individuals CLBP with or without sick-leave demands. Methods A total of 74 individuals were divided into three groups: chronic low back pain with sick-leave demands [CLBP_L]; chronic low back pain without sick-leave demands [CLBP_NL]; individuals without pain or sick-leave demands [Control]. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess brain function during moderate acute pain stimulation task (thumb controlled pressure). Results After acute painful stimulation, a higher brain response was found in the anterior cingulate and superior and medium frontal gyrus was observed in CLBP_NL vs. CLBP_L ( p < 0,001) and increased brain response in the frontal pole and paracingulate region in control vs. CLBP_L ( p < 0.001) during acute pain stimulation. Conclusion The modulation of acute pain participates in the mechanism propagating chronic pain perception. The lower activation in the superior frontal gyrus observed in the CLBP_L group compared to CLBP_NL, reinforces the idea of an already existing activation in this area.(AU)

Ressonância magnética funcional de memória: onde estamos e onde podemos chegar / Functional MRI of memory: where we are and where we can reach

INTRODUÇÃO: Ressonância functional (fMRI) é uma técnica capaz de substituir o teste de Wada como teste padrão de lateralização de memória. Atualmente, a fMRI já pode ser utilizada para estimar a lateralização de memória nos lobos temporais mediais, mas algumas variáveis devem ser tratadas de forma a garantir uma melhor qualidade dos resultados, como a intensidade do campo magnético e o paradigma utilizado.

Functional MRI (fMRI) is a promising technique for replacing the Wada test as the standard examination of memory lateralization. Currently fMRI can already be used to estimate lateralization of memory in the medial temporal lobes, but some variables should be treated to guarantee good-quality results, such as magnetic-field strength and design types.