Dataset Information

Leveraging high-resolution 7-tesla MRI to derive quantitative metrics for the trigeminal nerve and subnuclei of limbic structures in trigeminal neuralgia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is a chronic neurological disease that is strongly associated with neurovascular compression (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve near its root entry zone. The trigeminal nerve at the site of NVC has been extensively studied but limbic structures that are potentially involved in TN have not been adequately characterized. Specifically, the hippocampus is a stress-sensitive region which may be structurally impacted by chronic TN pain. As the center of the emotion-related network, the amygdala is closely related to stress regulation and may be associated with TN pain as well. The thalamus, which is involved in the trigeminal sensory pathway and nociception, may play a role in pain processing of TN. The objective of this study was to assess structural alterations in the trigeminal nerve and subregions of the hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus in TN patients using ultra-high field MRI and examine quantitative differences in these structures compared with healthy controls.

Methods

Thirteen TN patients and 13 matched controls were scanned at 7-Tesla MRI with high resolution, T1-weighted imaging. Nerve cross sectional area (CSA) was measured and an automated algorithm was used to segment hippocampal, amygdaloid, and thalamic subregions. Nerve CSA and limbic structure subnuclei volumes were compared between TN patients and controls.

Results

CSA of the posterior cisternal nerve on the symptomatic side was smaller in patients (3.75 mm²) compared with side-matched controls (5.77 mm², p = 0.006). In TN patients, basal subnucleus amygdala volume (0.347 mm³) was reduced on the symptomatic side compared with controls (0.401 mm³, p = 0.025) and the paralaminar subnucleus volume (0.04 mm³) was also reduced on the symptomatic side compared with controls (0.05 mm³, p = 0.009). The central lateral thalamic subnucleus was larger in TN patients on both the symptomatic side (0.033 mm³) and asymptomatic side (0.035 mm³), compared with the corresponding sides in controls (0.025 mm³ on both sides, p = 0.048 and p = 0.003 respectively). The inferior and lateral pulvinar thalamic subnuclei were both reduced in TN patients on the symptomatic side (0.2 mm³ and 0.17 mm³ respectively) compared to controls (0.23 mm³, p = 0.04 and 0.18 mm³, p = 0.04 respectively). No significant findings were found in the hippocampal subfields analyzed.

Conclusions

These findings, generated through a highly sensitive 7 T MRI protocol, provide compelling support for the theory that TN neurobiology is a complex amalgamation of local structural changes within the trigeminal nerve and structural alterations in subnuclei of limbic structures directly and indirectly involved in nociception and pain processing.

SUBMITTER: Alper J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8461944 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Leveraging high-resolution 7-tesla MRI to derive quantitative metrics for the trigeminal nerve and subnuclei of limbic structures in trigeminal neuralgia.

Alper Judy J Seifert Alan C AC Verma Gaurav G Huang Kuang-Han KH Jacob Yael Y Al Qadi Ameen A Rutland John W JW Patel Sheetal S Bederson Joshua J Shrivastava Raj K RK Delman Bradley N BN Balchandani Priti P

The journal of headache and pain 20210923 1

<h4>Background</h4>Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is a chronic neurological disease that is strongly associated with neurovascular compression (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve near its root entry zone. The trigeminal nerve at the site of NVC has been extensively studied but limbic structures that are potentially involved in TN have not been adequately characterized. Specifically, the hippocampus is a stress-sensitive region which may be structurally impacted by chronic TN pain. As the center of the emot ...[more]

PMID: 34556025

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Project description:ObjectiveTo determine the anatomical characteristics of the petrous ridge and trigeminal nerve in trigeminal neuralgia (TN) without neurovascular compression (NVC).Materials and methodsFrom May 2017 to March 2021, 66 patients (49 female and 17 male; mean age ± standard deviation [SD], 56.8 ± 13.3 years) with TN without NVC and 57 controls (46 female and 11 male; 52.0 ± 15.6 years) were enrolled. The angle of the petrous ridge (APR) and angle of the trigeminal nerve (ATN) were measured using magnetic resonance imaging with a high-resolution three-dimensional T2 sequence. Data on the symptomatic side were compared with those on the asymptomatic side in patients and with the mean measurements of the bilateral sides in controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the performance of APR and ATN in distinguishing TN patients from controls.ResultsIn TN patients without NVC, the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of APR on the symptomatic side (98.40° ± 19.75°) was significantly smaller than that of the asymptomatic side (105.59° ± 22.45°, p = 0.019) and controls (108.44° ± 15.98°, p = 0.003). The mean ATN ± SD on the symptomatic side (144.41° ± 8.92°) was significantly smaller than that of the asymptomatic side (149.67° ± 8.09°, p = 0.003) and controls (150.45° ± 8.48°, p = 0.001). The area under the ROC curve for distinguishing TN patients from controls was 0.673 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.579-0.758) for APR and 0.700 (CI: 0.607-0.782) for ATN. The sensitivity and specificity using the diagnostic cutoff yielding the highest Youden index were 81.8% (54/66) and 49.1% (28/57), respectively, for APR (with a cutoff score of 94.30°) and 65.2% (43/66) and 66.7% (38/57), respectively, for ATN (cutoff score, 148.25°).ConclusionIn patients with TN without NVC, APR and ATN were smaller than those in controls, which may explain the potential cause of TN and provide additional information for diagnosis.

Project description:Background: Several neuroimaging studies report structural alterations of the trigeminal nerve in trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Less attention has been paid to structural brain changes occurring in TN, even though such changes can influence the development and response to treatment of other headache and chronic pain conditions. The purpose of this study was to apply a novel neuroimaging technique-texture analysis-to identify structural brain differences between classical TN patients and healthy subjects. Methods: We prospectively recruited 14 medically refractory classical TN patients and 20 healthy subjects. 3-Tesla T1-weighted brain MRI scans were acquired in all participants. Three texture features (autocorrelation, contrast, energy) were calculated within four a priori brain regions of interest (anterior cingulate, insula, thalamus, brainstem). Voxel-wise analysis was used to identify clusters of texture difference between TN patients and healthy subjects within regions of interest (p < 0.001, cluster size >20 voxels). Median raw texture values within clusters were also compared between groups, and further used to differentiate TN patients from healthy subjects (receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis). Median raw texture values were correlated with pain severity (visual analog scale, 1-100) and illness duration. Results: Several clusters of texture difference were observed between TN patients and healthy subjects: right-sided TN patients showed reduced autocorrelation in the left brainstem, increased contrast in the left brainstem and right anterior insula, and reduced energy in right and left anterior cingulate, right midbrain, and left brainstem. Within-cluster median raw texture values also differed between TN patients and healthy subjects: TN patients could be segregated from healthy subjects using brainstem autocorrelation (p = 0.0040, AUC = 0.84, sensitivity = 89%, specificity = 70%), anterior insula contrast (p = 0.0002, AUC = 0.92, sensitivity = 78%, specificity = 100%), and anterior cingulate energy (p = 0.0004, AUC = 0.92, sensitivity = 78%, specificity = 100%). Additionally, anterior insula contrast and duration of TN were inversely correlated (p = 0.030, Spearman r = -0.73). Conclusions: Texture analysis reveals distinct brain abnormalities in TN, which relate to clinical features such as duration of illness. These findings further implicate structural brain changes in the development and maintenance of TN.

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Dataset Information

Leveraging high-resolution 7-tesla MRI to derive quantitative metrics for the trigeminal nerve and subnuclei of limbic structures in trigeminal neuralgia.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Leveraging high-resolution 7-tesla MRI to derive quantitative metrics for the trigeminal nerve and subnuclei of limbic structures in trigeminal neuralgia.

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