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Brusaferri L, Alshelh Z, Schnieders JH, Sandström A, Mohammadian M, Morrissey EJ, Kim M, Chane CA, Grmek GC, Murphy JP, Bialobrzewski J, DiPietro A, Klinke J, Zhang Y, Torrado-Carvajal A, Mercaldo N, Akeju O, Wu O, Rosen BR, Napadow V, Hadjikhani N, Loggia ML. Neuroimmune activation and increased brain aging in chronic pain patients after the COVID-19 pandemic onset. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 116:259-266. [PMID: 38081435 PMCID: PMC10872439 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a global impact on both physical and mental health, and clinical populations have been disproportionally affected. To date, however, the mechanisms underlying the deleterious effects of the pandemic on pre-existing clinical conditions remain unclear. Here we investigated whether the onset of the pandemic was associated with an increase in brain/blood levels of inflammatory markers and MRI-estimated brain age in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP), irrespective of their infection history. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 56 adult participants with cLBP (28 'Pre-Pandemic', 28 'Pandemic') using integrated Positron Emission Tomography/ Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PET/MRI) and the radioligand [11C]PBR28, which binds to the neuroinflammatory marker 18 kDa Translocator Protein (TSPO). Image data were collected between November 2017 and January 2020 ('Pre-Pandemic' cLBP) or between August 2020 and May 2022 ('Pandemic' cLBP). Compared to the Pre-Pandemic group, the Pandemic patients demonstrated widespread and statistically significant elevations in brain TSPO levels (P =.05, cluster corrected). PET signal elevations in the Pandemic group were also observed when 1) excluding 3 Pandemic subjects with a known history of COVID infection, or 2) using secondary outcome measures (volume of distribution -VT- and VT ratio - DVR) in a smaller subset of participants. Pandemic subjects also exhibited elevated serum levels of inflammatory markers (IL-16; P <.05) and estimated BA (P <.0001), which were positively correlated with [11C]PBR28 SUVR (r's ≥ 0.35; P's < 0.05). The pain interference scores, which were elevated in the Pandemic group (P <.05), were negatively correlated with [11C]PBR28 SUVR in the amygdala (r = -0.46; P<.05). This work suggests that the pandemic outbreak may have been accompanied by neuroinflammation and increased brain age in cLBP patients, as measured by multimodal imaging and serum testing. This study underscores the broad impact of the pandemic on human health, which extends beyond the morbidity solely mediated by the virus itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovica Brusaferri
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Computer Science and Informatics, School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London, UK
| | - Zeynab Alshelh
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jack H Schnieders
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Angelica Sandström
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mehrbod Mohammadian
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Erin J Morrissey
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Minhae Kim
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Courtney A Chane
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Grace C Grmek
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer P Murphy
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julia Bialobrzewski
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexa DiPietro
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julie Klinke
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Angel Torrado-Carvajal
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Medical Image Analysis and Biometry Laboratory, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nathaniel Mercaldo
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Oluwaseun Akeju
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ona Wu
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bruce R Rosen
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Nouchine Hadjikhani
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Marco L Loggia
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Weerasekera A, Knight PC, Alshelh Z, Morrissey EJ, Kim M, Zhang Y, Napadow V, Anzolin A, Torrado-Carvajal A, Edwards RR, Ratai EM, Loggia ML. Thalamic neurometabolite alterations in chronic low back pain: a common phenomenon across musculoskeletal pain conditions? Pain 2024; 165:126-134. [PMID: 37578456 PMCID: PMC10841327 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Recently, we showed that patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) demonstrate alterations in the thalamic concentrations of several metabolites compared with healthy controls: higher myo-inositol (mIns), lower N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and lower choline (Cho). Here, we evaluated whether these metabolite alterations are specific to KOA or could also be observed in patients with a different musculoskeletal condition, such as chronic low back pain (cLBP). Thirty-six patients with cLBP and 20 healthy controls were scanned using 1 H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and a PRESS (Point RESolved Spectroscopy) sequence with voxel placement in the left thalamus. Compared with healthy controls, patients with cLBP demonstrated lower absolute concentrations of NAA ( P = 0.0005) and Cho ( P < 0.05) and higher absolute concentrations of mIns ( P = 0.01) when controlling for age, as predicted by our previous work in KOA. In contrast to our KOA study, mIns levels in this population did not significantly correlate with pain measures (eg, pain severity or duration). However, exploratory analyses revealed that NAA levels in patients were negatively correlated with the severity of sleep disturbance ( P < 0.01), which was higher in patients compared with healthy controls ( P < 0.001). Additionally, also in patients, both Cho and mIns levels were positively correlated with age ( P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Altogether, these results suggest that thalamic metabolite changes may be common across etiologically different musculoskeletal chronic pain conditions, including cLBP and KOA, and may relate to symptoms often comorbid with chronic pain, such as sleep disturbance. The functional and clinical significance of these brain changes remains to be fully understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akila Weerasekera
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Paulina C. Knight
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Zeynab Alshelh
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Erin J. Morrissey
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Minhae Kim
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alessandra Anzolin
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Angel Torrado-Carvajal
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Medical Image Analysis and Biometry Laboratory, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Robert R. Edwards
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eva-Maria Ratai
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marco L. Loggia
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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