TY  - JOUR
A1  - Aster, Hans-Christoph
A1  - Evdokimov, Dimitar
A1  - Braun, Alexandra
A1  - Üçeyler, Nurcan
A1  - Kampf, Thomas
A1  - Pham, Mirko
A1  - Homola, György A.
A1  - Sommer, Claudia
T1  - CNS imaging characteristics in fibromyalgia patients with and without peripheral nerve involvement
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - We tested the hypothesis that reduced skin innervation in fibromyalgia syndrome is associated with specific CNS changes. This prospective case–control study included 43 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome and 40 healthy controls. We further compared the fibromyalgia subgroups with reduced (n = 21) and normal (n = 22) skin innervation. Brains were analysed for cortical volume, for white matter integrity, and for functional connectivity. Compared to controls, cortical thickness was decreased in regions of the frontal, temporal and parietal cortex in the fibromyalgia group as a whole, and decreased in the bilateral pericalcarine cortices in the fibromyalgia subgroup with reduced skin innervation. Diffusion tensor imaging revealed a significant increase in fractional anisotropy in the corona radiata, the corpus callosum, cingulum and fornix in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy controls and decreased FA in parts of the internal capsule and thalamic radiation in the subgroup with reduced skin innervation. Using resting-state fMRI, the fibromyalgia group as a whole showed functional hypoconnectivity between the right midfrontal gyrus and the posterior cerebellum and the right crus cerebellum, respectively. The subgroup with reduced skin innervation showed hyperconnectivity between the inferior frontal gyrus, the angular gyrus and the posterior parietal gyrus. Our results suggest that the subgroup of fibromyalgia patients with pronounced pathology in the peripheral nervous system shows alterations in morphology, structural and functional connectivity also at the level of the encephalon. We propose considering these subgroups when conducting clinical trials.
KW  - fibromyalgia syndrome
KW  - CNS imaging
KW  - peripheral nerve involvement
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300562
VL  - 12
IS  - 1
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Erbacher, Christoph
A1  - Vaknine, Shani
A1  - Moshitzky, Gilli
A1  - Lobentanzer, Sebastian
A1  - Eisenberg, Lina
A1  - Evdokimov, Dimitar
A1  - Sommer, Claudia
A1  - Greenberg, David S.
A1  - Soreq, Hermona
A1  - Üçeyler, Nurcan
T1  - Distinct CholinomiR blood cell signature as a potential modulator of the cholinergic system in women with fibromyalgia syndrome
JF  - Cells
N2  - Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a heterogeneous chronic pain syndrome characterized by musculoskeletal pain and other key co-morbidities including fatigue and a depressed mood. FMS involves altered functioning of the central and peripheral nervous system (CNS, PNS) and immune system, but the specific molecular pathophysiology remains unclear. Anti-cholinergic treatment is effective in FMS patient subgroups, and cholinergic signaling is a strong modulator of CNS and PNS immune processes. Therefore, we used whole blood small RNA-sequencing of female FMS patients and healthy controls to profile microRNA regulators of cholinergic transcripts (CholinomiRs). We compared microRNA profiles with those from Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with pain as disease controls. We validated the sequencing results with quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and identified cholinergic targets. Further, we measured serum cholinesterase activity in FMS patients and healthy controls. Small RNA-sequencing revealed FMS-specific changes in 19 CholinomiRs compared to healthy controls and PD patients. qRT-PCR validated miR-182-5p upregulation, distinguishing FMS patients from healthy controls. mRNA targets of CholinomiRs bone morphogenic protein receptor 2 and interleukin 6 signal transducer were downregulated. Serum acetylcholinesterase levels and cholinesterase activity in FMS patients were unchanged. Our findings identified an FMS-specific CholinomiR signature in whole blood, modulating immune-related gene expression.
KW  - fibromyalgia syndrome
KW  - cholinergic system
KW  - CholinomiRs
KW  - microRNA
KW  - miR-182-5p
KW  - Parkinson's disease
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-270686
SN  - 2073-4409
VL  - 11
IS  - 8
ER  -