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Alteration of Cortical Volume and Thickness in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Thapaliya et al, 2022)

Messages
600
Authors
Kiran Thapaliya, Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, Donald Staines, Jiasheng Su, Leighton Barnden

Abstract

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients suffer from neurocognitive impairment. In this study, we investigated cortical volumetric and thickness changes in ME/CFS patients and healthy controls (HC). We estimated mean surface-based cortical volume and thickness from 18 ME/CFS patients who met International Consensus Criteria (ICC) and 26 HC using FreeSurfer. Vertex-wise analysis showed significant reductions in the caudal middle frontal gyrus (p = 0.0016) and precuneus (p = 0.013) thickness in ME/CFS patients compared with HC. Region based analysis of sub-cortical volumes found that amygdala volume (p = 0.002) was significantly higher in ME/CFS patients compared with HC. We also performed interaction-with-group regressions with clinical measures to test for cortical volume and thickness correlations in ME/CFS with opposite slopes to HC (abnormal). ME/CFS cortical volume and thickness regressions with fatigue, heart-rate variability, heart rate, sleep disturbance score, respiratory rate, and cognitive performance were abnormal. Our study demonstrated different cortical volume and thickness in ME/CFS patients and showed abnormal cortical volume and thickness regressions with key symptoms of ME/CFS patients.


The study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.848730/full
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,249
Is the brain stuff cause or effect?o_O

the stress factors they describe are huge (in my case) and would be factors that might contribute to actual direct brain changes.....

So many forms of stress. I had a lovely childhood. Why did they put me on phenobarbital?

I"d be really curious to see us run through IQ testing, high achievement, related personality stuff. I'm going to now argue most of us ME folks are of above average intelligence. We are vulnerable to falling over due to the Push.
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,249
Our study demonstrated different cortical volume and thickness in ME/CFS patients and showed abnormal cortical volume and thickness regressions with key symptoms of ME/CFS patients.

I'll just say it, so other's don't feel pressured.

I feel brain damaged and clearly I am brain damaged although I still have one, and its still operating and I'm not giving my brain away and asking for somebody else's.

No, I will cope with this. But this explains so much of the internal challenge and how impossible simply normal activities have become.

I really cannot imagine going on a drive, a vacation, visiting friends I've not seen, even going to the doctor I've not seen in two years almost due to COVID.

The isolation has gotten worse and to be near other people in this state is profoundly uncomfortable to imagine let alone agree to.

My friend is begging me to call her. Somehow I can still be a friend in theory, yet the phone is just so awful.

And there it is: described in this research as: directing and maintaining visual attention.
 
Messages
600
.
I'll just say it, so other's don't feel pressured.

I feel brain damaged and clearly I am brain damaged although I still have one, and its still operating and I'm not giving my brain away and asking for somebody else's.
I have speculated about this as well but i did an MRI some years ago and it appeared to be normal. Hope that stuff would have found any potential brain damage.
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
Related publications from the same author:

A systematic review of neurological impairments in ME/CFS using neuroimaging techniques (Maksoud et al., 2020)
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...syndrome-using-neuroimaging-techniques.81884/

Diffusion tensor imaging reveals neuronal microstructural changes in ME/CFS (Thapaliya et al., 2021)
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...agnostic-criteria-thapaliya-et-al-2021.85111/

Volumetric differences in hippocampal subfields and associations with clinical measures in ME/CFS (Thapaliya et al., 2022)
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...easures-in-me-cfs-thapaliya-et-al-2022.87423/