PLoS ONE (Jan 2021)

Abnormal neuroinflammation in fibromyalgia and CRPS using [11C]-(R)-PK11195 PET.

  • Seongho Seo,
  • Ye-Ha Jung,
  • Dasom Lee,
  • Won Joon Lee,
  • Joon Hwan Jang,
  • Jae-Yeon Lee,
  • Soo-Hee Choi,
  • Jee Youn Moon,
  • Jae Sung Lee,
  • Gi Jeong Cheon,
  • Do-Hyung Kang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246152
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 2
p. e0246152

Abstract

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PurposeFibromyalgia (FM) and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) share many pathological mechanisms related to chronic pain and neuroinflammation, which may contribute to the multifactorial pathological mechanisms in both FM and CRPS. The aim of this study was to assess neuroinflammation in FM patients compared with that in patients with CRPS and healthy controls.MethodsNeuroinflammation was measured as the distribution volume ratio (DVR) of [11C]-(R)-PK11195 positron emission tomography (PET) in 12 FM patients, 11 patients with CRPS and 15 healthy controls.ResultsNeuroinflammation in FM patients was significantly higher in the left pre (primary motor cortex) and post (primary somatosensory cortex) central gyri (p ConclusionsTo the authors' knowledge, this report is the first to describe abnormal neuroinflammation levels in the brains of FM patients compared with that in patients with CRPS using [11C]-(R)-PK11195 PET. The results suggested that abnormal neuroinflammation can be an important pathological factor in FM. In addition, the identification of common and different critical regions related to abnormal neuroinflammation in FM, compared with patients with CRPS and healthy controls, may contribute to improved diagnosis and the development of effective medical treatment for patients with FM.