Central effects of short-term spinal cord stimulation in postherpetic neuralgia: a longitudinal fMRI and DTI study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a refractory neuropathic pain following herpes zoster reactivation, lacks clear central mechanisms for emerging therapies like short-term spinal cord stimulation (stSCS). This longitudinal study used multimodal neuroimaging to examine the effects of 14-day stSCS on brain function and white matter microstructure in PHN patients, and to identify neural correlates of clinical improvements.

Methods

In this longitudinal, single-arm, pre-post study, 17 PHN patients received 14 days of continuous stSCS. Clinical outcomes including pain intensity (Numeric Rating Scale, NRS), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), and sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), were assessed pre-stSCS and 3 days post-stS

SUBMITTER: Lei X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12835296 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature