Defining the Role for Descending Pain Modulation and Reward Aversion Processes Towards the Development of Chronic Pain in Endometriosis
Abstract
Purpose: Endometriosis, a condition in which uterine tissue grows outside the uterus, is a debilitating disease, affecting millions of women and which costs the United States approximately $78 billion annually in pain- related disability. It has a deleterious impact on physical and emotional functioning, as well as quality of life, and is the leading cause of chronic pelvic pain (CPP). One study conducted on female Veterans utilizing the VA healthcare system found that the most frequent reproductive health diagnoses among those aged 18-44 were menstrual disorders and endometriosis. Compared with women without any reproductive health diagnoses, a higher proportion of female Veterans with such diagnoses had concomitant medical and mental health diagnoses and more VA outpatient encounters. Scope: We hypothesized that (1) intermittent or ongoing pain in patients with endometriosis,produces a sensitized peripheral and central nervous system (peripheral and central sensitization) that becomes maladaptive (centralization of pain) in patients who chronify vs. those that do not and (2) that there will be differences in brain circuit responsivity with age. The current grant utilized neuroimaging and pain psychophysics to investigate the impact of endometriosis on the brain in pre-menopausal women ages 12-44 years and investigated the comorbidity of endometriosis and migraine. Findings: Data analyses are underway but some significant findings include: (1) Functional brain changes found in adolescents with endometriosis-associated pain (EAP) compared to healthy, age-matched controls and in the EAP group, these brain changes were correlated with state anxiety and fear of pain.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1226554
Entities
People
- Christine B Sieberg
- David Borsook
- Scott Holmes