NL93
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From Radboud Nijmegen. Apparently brain differences between CFS and healthy people have to do with pain. And, wait for it, they will do a study to see if CBT reverses it.
https://goo.gl/GY0r0v
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https://goo.gl/GY0r0v
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Pain explains differences in the brains of chronic fatigue patients
In some patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), show changes in the brains. Researchers at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre and describe the AMC in the scientific journal Biological Psychiatry that these changes are not so much related to the fatigue itself, but with the presence of pain. Patients with CFS, also known as ME, are not only seriously tired, but also have numerous other complaints. For example, many patients with CFS pain or they can concentrate less. Earlier research into the brain of patients with CFS suggests that patients have less gray matter than healthy non weary people. located in the gray matter are the nerve cells that process information. However, how these brain changes associated with the various complaints is not yet known.
big brain
Researchers from Dutch Knowledge Chronic Fatigue from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Donders Institute and AMC collected brain scans of a large group of patients with CFS. It examined changes in the gray matter in the so-called dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a portion of the brains that among other things is important for the processing of pain signals. Earlier research has shown that the amount of gray matter in this brain region is often associated with pain, reduced physical activity, or decreased responsiveness. All symptoms which are common in CFS patients.
Pain explains brain change Surprisingly, it was not fatigue, but pain to best explain the variations in brain volume. Patients who reported pain had much less gray matter in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and a lower vitality of the nerve cells in this area of the brain. Unlike previous studies, the researchers found no difference in the amount of gray matter when the whole group of CFS patients compared with healthy people without fatigue.
More than fatigue
Researcher Marieke van der Schaaf: "The relationship between brain volume and pain is also common in other diseases found. In the search for brain abnormalities in patients with CFS is therefore important to have not only on the role of fatigue, but also of pain. "In a follow-up study, the researchers will see if the gray fabric recovers after treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy , which aims to reduce pain and fatigue.