Disrupted White Matter Microstructure in Patients With Fibromyalgia Owing Predominantly to Psychological Factors: A...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Radiology

Background:

• Neuroimaging studies reveal cerebral microstructural integrity alterations in fibromyalgia (FM) patients.
• Fibromyalgia is frequently accompanied by depression and anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate white matter microstructure changes in FM patients.
• To assess the influence of concurrent psychological factors on these changes.

Main Methods:

• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used on 20 FM patients and 20 healthy controls.
• Calculated fractional anisotropy (FA), mean, radial, and axial diffusivity (MD, RD, AD) using tract-based spatial statistics.
• Examined relationships between diffusion parameters and pain scales.

Main Results:

• FM patients displayed altered FA, MD, RD, and AD in multiple white matter tracts.
• Most differences diminished when accounting for depression and anxiety, except for axial diffusivity (AD) reduction in specific tracts.
• DTI measures did not correlate with clinical variables.

Conclusions:

• Disrupted white matter microstructure in FM is primarily linked to pain processing and motor control tracts, independent of psychosocial factors.
• Psychological distress significantly contributes to observed white matter differences in FM patients.