ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Brain perfusion abnormality in patients with chronic pain
Tetsumi Honda,1 Toshihiko Maruta,2 and Kumiko Takahashi3

Department of Rehabilitation, Tokyo Metropolitan Rehabilitation Hospital, Tokyo, Japan(Present Affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Hamamatsu City Rehabilitation Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan)
2
Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, U.S.A.
3
Department of Health Welfare, Takasaki Health Welfare University, Gunma, Japan
1(Received for publication on January 23, 2007)(Revised for publication on March 11, 2007)(Accepted for publication on March 15, 2007)

Abstract. We performed single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of thebrain in 15 patients with chronic pain (males, 7; females, 8; average age 49.1 ± 17.9 years)
and identified the locus of cerebral blood flow reduction by a new analytical method (easyZ-score Imaging System: eZIS) to clarify the functional neuroanatomical basis of chronicpain. Of the 15 patients, 6 had backache, 2 neck pain, 2 gonalgia, and 5 pain at other sites,with an average Visual analog scale of pain (VAS) value of 6.1 ± 1.9.
In comparison with a information on a data base on physically unimpaired persons, thedorsolateral prefrontal area (both sides, right dominant), medial prefrontal area (both sides),dorsal aspect of the anterior cingulate gyrus nociceptive cortex (both sides) and the lateralpart of the orbitofrontal cortex (right side) were found to have blood flow reduction in thegroup of patients with chronic pain. As for chronic pain and its correlation with clinical features such as a depressive state, anticipation anxiety, PTSD, and conversion hysteria, themechanism in the brain that was suggested by this study should be followed-up by functional neuroimaging studies. (Keio J Med 56 (2) : 48－52, June 2007)
Key words: chronic pain, frontal lobe, SPECT, eZIS, brain perfusion

Introduction

cording to the experience of the radiologist, reproducibility, and difficulty in ascertaining three dimensionallythe distribution of blood flow in the lesion. To overcome
such weak points, statistical analysis of images has been
introduced into SPECT diagnosis by transforming information on brain function of each person to eliminate individual differences in the configuration of the brain torecreate the normal brain of Talairach.
Representative procedures for statistical analysis ofimages obtained by SPECT are Statistical Parametric
Mapping (SPM)8 and three-dimensional stereotactic surface projection (3D SSP) developed by Minoshima.9
However, as for the SPM, utilizing the t-test for analysis
results in high specificity but low sensitivity. 3D SSP analyzes near partial blood flow to the brain surface and toreflect consequences to brain lists and presents difficulties in obtaining three dimensional positional information on aberrant blood flow.

Chronic pain is one of the most challenging problems
in contemporary medicine and has been studied in various settings and disciplines in clinical medicine, such as
orthopaedics, psychiatry, and pain clinics.
In recent years, much new knowledge has accumulatedon the mechanism in the brain of chronic pain throughthe development of non-invasive brain imaging procedures, including Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), PET, and fMRI. 1 Through theseprocedures it has been clarified that the medial prefrontal
area contributes to pain anticipation,2-4 and that the anterior cingulate gyrus contributes to the affective component of pain.5, 6 Apkarian et al 7 pointed out dysfunctionof the orbitofrontal cortex in patients with chronic pain.
SPECT is simple and easy, but there have been problems related to differences in interpretation of results ac-To whom correspondence should be addressed: Tetsumi Honda, M.D., Ph.D., Hamamatsu City Rehabilitation Hospital, 1327-1 Wago-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 433-8511, Japan, E-mail: h-tetsu@mth.biglobe.ne.jp48Keio J Med 2007; 56 (2): 48 － 52

49

Table 1. Subjects

VAS: Visual Analog Scale Value of Pain

In consideration of the above, Matsuda developed aneasy Z-score imaging system (eZIS) 1 0 that utilized thestatistical procedure of 3D-SSP based on a version ofSPM 99. E-ZIS can visualize differences in blood flowin the entire brain, including the deep brain, between apatient or patients under study and a control group derived from a data base on 138 normal subjects (normal
data base, NDB).
We performed SPECT on 15 chronic pain patients andanalyzed the imaging data using eZIS. The purpose ofthis study is to clarify the intracerebral mechanism ofchronic pain in patients with chronic pain using SPECT(eZIS) and to compare the results with those of previousstudies.
Subjects
Subjects were 15 consecutive chronic pain patients
who received outpatient services at Tokyo Metropolitan
Rehabilitation Hospital from May 2003 to June 2006.
There were 7 males and 8 females ranging in age from
20-76 years (average, 49.1 ± 17.9). Duration of symptoms ranged from 6 months to 11 years (average 57.3 ±38.7 months). Chief complaints were backache (sciatica)
in 6, neck pain in 2, bilateral gonalgia in 2, and other re-gions in 5. Degree of awareness of pain using a visual
analog scale (VAS) ranged from 2.1-9.8 (average.
6.1 (± 1.9)) (Table 1).
Subjects were diagnosed as chronic pain by a psychiatrist, and met the criteria for a “pain disorder” (chronic)of DSM IV -Tr11. They had no past history of psychiatricillnesses and medication usage other than as-needed analgesics.
Methods
Subjects were informed of the purpose of measuring
blood flow with SPECT for further understanding ofchronic pain and all agreed to participate in the study.
Brain SPECT with 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimmer(99mTc-ECD) was performed during bed rest with nostimulation and results were analyzed by eZIS. In eZIS,
cerebral blood flow data on each subject were comparedwith age-matched NDB.
Degree of cerebral blood flow reduction is displayed asa Z score (Z score=(control mean)-(individual value)/(control SD) map. We averaged Z scores of all 15 chronic patients to obtain a common Z score map of chronicpain.

Honda T, et al: Brain perfusion abnormality in patients with chronic pain

50Fig. 1 Decreased blood flow was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal area (both sides, right dominant), medial(both sides), dorsal
aspect of the anterior cingulate gyrus nociceptive cortex (both sides) and right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (text).
PFC(MED)：medial prefrontal cortex
PFC(DL)：dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
PFC(OF)：orbitofrontal cortex
ACC(NCC)：anterior cingulate cortex (nociceptive cortex)

Results (Fig.1)
In the 15 chronic pain patients, decreased cerebralblood flow was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal
area (both sides, right dominant), medial (both sides),dorsal aspect of the anterior cingulate gyrus nociceptive
cortex and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (right side).
Discussion
It is generally known that chronic pain is heterogenous,1 2 and a correlation of symptomatology with depression 1 3 -1 6 or post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD),1 7, 1 8 panic disorder1 9, 2 0 and conversion hysteria21- 24 has been discussed In fact, it is well-known thatblood flow in the right dorsolateral prefrontal area decreases in the depressive state and the negative affective
state during acute grief.2 5 The facts may suggest that

CBF reduction in the dorsolateral prefrontal area (bothsides, right dominant) commonly underlies in chronic
pain, depression and acute grief.
The anterior cingulate gyrus consists of an ‘affect’component and a ‘cognition’ component with regard tofunction, and the latter includes a skeletal muscle control
cortex and a nociception cortex.2 6 Our results showedblood flow reduction in the nociception cortex of the anterior cingulate gyrus. On the other hand, in recent years
dysfunction of the anterior cingulate gyrus has been noted in PTSD.2 7, 2 8 This suggests that the mechanism of
PTSD and chronic pain are related at the level of function of the dorsal aspect of the anterior cingulate gyrus
as shown by the reduction of blood flow in this study.
The orbitofrontal cortex has an important function forthe processing of rewards and punishments.2 9 Kringekbach and Roll2 9 distinguished the orbitofrontal cortex
into medial and lateral areas from neuroanatomical andKeio J Med 2007; 56 (2): 48 － 52

meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies as reported in theneuropsychology literature. They postulated that the lateral orbitofrontal cortex contributes to punishment irritation such as pain while the medial orbitofrontal cortex isrelated to monitoring of reward value (the same asabove). In our study, blood flow reduction was found in
the lateral orbitofrontal cortex in chronic pain patients.
Recently, potency of “core dysfunction” in conversion
hysteria was noted in the orbitofrontal cortex with cingulate gyrus.3 0 However, as is generally known, the clinical manifestations of conversion hysteria and chronic
pain are complicated. Both findings of clinical observation and the relationship of the mechanism in brain of
conversion hysteria and chronic pain must be reviewed
carefully .
Although our results showed cerebral blood flow reduction of each part of the frontal lobe, the greatest manifestation of reduction was found in the right dorsolateralprefrontal area and the medial prefrontal area. How thisfinding contributes to the characteristics of chronic pain
must be examined in the future.
Subjects of this study were those with chronic painwith a duration of more than six months, and were tested
in a resting state without sensory stimulation. Increased
blood flow in the prefrontal lobe was noted in acute andexperimental pain.3 1, 3 2 Therefore, the temporal profile
of cerebral blood flow dynamics from the acute stage
must be clarified in patients with pain.
Furthermore, it is necessary to study the relationshipbetween improvement in clinical features and changes inimages of brain function after therapeutic intervention.
Acknowledgements
We heartily thank the valuable support of Dr. Takeshi
Takahata, vice director of Isehara Kyodo Hospital. In addition, we thank Mr. Hiroshi Tazumi in FUJIFILM RI
Pharma Co., Ltd. and Mr. Kohei Toyota in Tokyo Metropolitan Rehabilitation Hospital for their technical assistance.
This study was funded by Grants for Activities Utilizing Investment Income from Accumulated Compulsory
Automobile Liability Insurance Funds.
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