Brain Network Characteristics of Pain Patients Based on Magnetoencephalography

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Magnetoencephalography: MEG is a technique that passively detects weak magnetic field signals generated by intracellular currents in the brain, using superconducting or atomic magnetometers within a magnetically shielded room. By co-registering the MEG signals with MRI for source localization, and performing power spectral analysis across different frequency bands, it enables non-invasive, high temporal-resolution assessment of brain function.

Study summary

This is a single-center prospective cohort study. We plan to enroll at least 1,000 patients with muscle pain (VAS ≥ 3) and 200 healthy controls. The study aims to investigate neural oscillatory and functional connectivity characteristics in muscle pain patients using magnetoencephalography (MEG), and to analyze their associations with clinical phenotypes including pain intensity, emotional status, sleep quality, disease duration, and sex. Furthermore, we aim to develop a prognostic model for pain outcome. All pain patients will undergo baseline assessments including MEG (with working-memory task, resting-state, and stimulus-evoked paradigms), brain MRI, and a series of clinical scales (VAS, MPQ, HAMA, HAMD, PSQI, ODI, NDI, SPADI, IKDC, WOMAC, DASH, etc.). They will then be followed up at 1, 3, and 6 months, with repeated collection of pain and functional outcome measures. Multivariate regression, mixed-effects models, and penalized regression will be employed to build prediction models. Model performance will be evaluated using AUC, calibration curves, and bootstrap internal validation. We aim to identify candidate objective neural biomarkers to provide a scientific basis for objective pain assessment and stratified management.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Visual Analogue Scale — baseline, pre-intervention
  Uses a 0-10 cm linear scale, with 0 representing no pain and 10 representing the worst imaginable pain; participants mark their current pain level based on subjective feeling

Trial sites (1)

More Qilu Hospital of Shandong University trials in China