People with acute low back pain who later recovered were more likely to lose the pleasure of eating pudding and show disrupted satiety signaling – communication from the digestive system to the brain – while those with angina acute back pain that persists for a year is not. initially had the same change in their eating behavior. But chronic low back pain patients have reported that eventually foods high in fat and carbohydrates, like ice cream and cookies, became problematic for them over time, and brain scans showed satiety signals interruption.
“It is important to note that changes in food preferences do not alter intake,” says Geha, first author of a previous study published in the journal PAIN. their calories. “These findings suggest that obesity in patients with chronic pain may not be due to inactivity but may be due to changes in their eating patterns.”
Brain scans of study participants show that the nucleus accumbens – a small region of the brain primarily known for its decision-making role – may provide clues to those at risk of long-term changes long in eating behavior. The researchers found that the structure of this brain region was normal in patients who initially experienced changes in their eating behavior but the pain did not become chronic.
However, patients with normal eating behaviors, but whose pain became chronic, had smaller nuclei accumulation. Interestingly, cumulative multipliers predict pleasure ratings only in patients with chronic low back pain and in patients who become chronic after an acute episode of low back pain suggesting that this area becomes important. in the motivating behavior of patients with chronic pain. Geha’s previous research, finding a smaller nucleus pulposus, could indicate whether someone is at higher risk for chronic pain.
Other authors include Yezhe Lin, PhD, and Gelsina Stanley of the University of Rochester, Ivan de Araujo, PhD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Dana Small, PhD, of Yale University. The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Source: Eurekalert
