Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25161898›Full record

SynthesisNeuroImage. Clinical2014

Pain in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review of neuroimaging studies.

D Seixas, P Foley, J Palace, D Lima, I Ramos, I Tracey

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in NeuroImage. Clinical, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Sex/gender differences in neural correlates of food stimuli: a systematic review of functional neuroimaging studies.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2017
    Pooled it
  3. Neuropathic pain versus restless legs syndrome: distinct and combined effects on balance and walking performance in multiple sclerosis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Central neuropathic pain.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2023
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. A voxel-based lesion symptom mapping analysis of chronic pain in multiple sclerosis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2021
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Measurement of Pain in Multiple Sclerosis.Noro psikiyatri arsivi · 2018
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

D SeixasCentre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK ; Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Porto University, Portugal ; Nuffield Division Anaesthetics, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK ; IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Porto University, Portugal.
P FoleyDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh, UK ; Department of Palliative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, UK.
J PalaceDivision of Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford, UK ; Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, UK.
D LimaDepartment of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Porto University, Portugal ; IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Porto University, Portugal.
I RamosDepartment of Radiology, Centro Hospitalar São João, Portugal ; Medical Imaging Group, Faculty of Medicine, Porto University, Portugal.
I TraceyCentre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK ; Nuffield Division Anaesthetics, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK.
Universidade do Porto · PTUniversity of Oxford · GBUniversity of Edinburgh · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWhile pain in multiple sclerosis (MS) is common, in many cases the precise mechanisms are unclear. Neuroimaging studies could have a valuable role in investigating the aetiology of pain syndromes. The aim of this review was to synthesise and appraise the current literature on neuroimaging studies of pain syndromes in MS.

methodsWe systematically searched PubMed and Scopus from their inception dates to the 2nd of April 2013. Studies were selected by predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Methodological quality was appraised. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted.

resultsWe identified 38 studies of variable methodology and quality. All studies but one used conventional structural magnetic resonance imaging, and the majority reported a positive association between location of demyelinating lesions and specific neuropathic pain syndromes. Most investigated headache and facial pain, with more common pain syndromes such as limb pain being relatively understudied. We identified a number of methodological concerns, which along with variable study design and reporting limit our ability to synthesise data. Higher quality studies were however less likely to report positive associations of lesion distribution to pain syndromes.

conclusionsFurther high quality hypothesis-driven neuroimaging studies of pain syndromes in MS are required to clarify pain mechanisms, particularly for the commonest pain syndromes.

Indexed as

HumansMultiple SclerosisNeuroimagingPainHeadacheMagnetic resonance imagingMultiple sclerosisPainReview

Identifiers

PMID25161898
PMCPMC4141976
OpenAlexW2054556815

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.