n a joint study, Finnish and US researchers have discovered a link between the size of the choroid plexus in the brain and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The study, which has been published in "Scientific Reports", shows that in CRPS patients choroid plexus is significantly larger.
For the study, the teams at Aalto University, Helsinki University Hospital and Harvard Medical School examined 32 subjects, half of whom suffered from the syndrome and half of whom were healthy, by means of 3-tesla structural magnetic resonance images. They found that the choroid plexus was nearly one-fifth larger in patients than in healthy control subjects.
In clinical neuroscience, the functions of choroid plexus beyond cerebrospinal fluid generation have been largely neglected, the authors explain. "As the choroid plexus is known to mediate the interaction between inflammation in the periphery of the body and in the brain, it is an interesting and important target for future research of chronic pain and CRPS in particular," said lead researcher Riitta Hari.
For the study, the teams at Aalto University, Helsinki University Hospital and Harvard Medical School examined 32 subjects, half of whom suffered from the syndrome and half of whom were healthy, by means of 3-tesla structural magnetic resonance images. They found that the choroid plexus was nearly one-fifth larger in patients than in healthy control subjects.
In clinical neuroscience, the functions of choroid plexus beyond cerebrospinal fluid generation have been largely neglected, the authors explain. "As the choroid plexus is known to mediate the interaction between inflammation in the periphery of the body and in the brain, it is an interesting and important target for future research of chronic pain and CRPS in particular," said lead researcher Riitta Hari.