Nondermatomal Somatosensory Deficits (NDSDs) in Patients With Chronic Pain Disorder - Clinical Findings and Hypometabolic Pattern in PET*

摘要

We examined 90 consecutive patients with unilaterally accentuated chronic pain and ipsilateral NDSDs with hemibody distribution. In 11 patients functional neuroimaging (18-fluordeoxyglucose positron emission tomography = FDG-PET) was carried out (see PAIN 2009; 145:252-258). Conventional imaging procedures (brain CT or MRI scans) showed no structural changes. However, FDG-PET showed a significant hypo-metabolic pattern of changes in cortical and subcortical areas, mainly in the postcentral gyrus, posterior insula, putamen, and anterior cingulate cortex. The analysis of the sociodemographic data and clinical history revealed that pain-associated NDSDs were regularly associated with a history of adverse life events, depression, and insomnia.The following contribution presents further elaborations and discussions of our study "Nondermatomal somatosensory deficits with chronic pain disorder: Clinical findings and hypometabolic pattern in FDG-PET", published in Pain 2009;145:252-258.