Reproducible Microstructural Changes in the Brain Associated With the Presence and Severity of Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (UCPPS): A 3-Year Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study From the MAPP Network

Microstructural alterations have been reported in patients with urologic chronic pel-vic pain syndrome (UCPPS). However, it isn't clear whether these alterations are reproducible within 6 months or whether long-term symptom improvement is associated with specific micro -structural changes. Using data from the MAPP-II Research Network, the current study performed population-based voxel-wise DTI and probabilistic tractography in a large sample of participants from the multicenter cohort with UCPPS (N = 364) and healthy controls (HCs, N = 61) over 36 months. While fractional anisotropy (FA) differences between UCPPS patients and HCs were observed to be unique at baseline and 6-month follow-up visits, consistent aberrations in mean diffusivity (MD) were observed between UCPPS and HCs at baseline and repeated at 6 months. Additionally, compared to HCs, UCPPS patients showed stronger structural connectivity (SC) between the left postcentral gyrus and the left precuneus, and weaker SC from the left cuneus to the left lateral occipital cortex and the isthmus of the left cingulate cortex at baseline and 6 -month. By 36 months, reduced FA and MD aberrations in these same regions were associated with symptom improvement in UCPPS. Together, results suggest changes in white matter micro-structure may play a role in the persistent pain symptoms in UCPPS. Perspective: This longitudinal study identified reproducible, disease-associated patterns in altered mean diffusivity and abnormal microstructural connectivity in UCPPS comparing to HCs over 6 months. These differences were found in regions involved in sensory processing and integration and pain modulation, making it potentially amenable for clinical interventions that target synaptic and/or neuronal reorganization. Reproducible Changes (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Automated summary

This study found that alterations in white matter microstructure may be associated with persistent pain symptoms in urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS). The results showed consistent aberrations in mean diffusivity (MD) between UCPPS patients and healthy controls, while fractional anisotropy (FA) differences were unique at baseline and 6-month follow-up visits. Furthermore, abnormal microstructural connectivity was observed in specific brain regions involved in sensory processing and pain modulation.