Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39912964›Full record

ArticleBrain topography2025

Abnormal Alterations of the White Matter Structural Network in Patients with Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia.

Zihan Li, Lili Gu, Xiaofeng Jiang, Jiaqi Liu, Jiahao Li, Yangyang Xie, Jiaxin Xiong, Huiting Lv, Wanqing Zou, Suhong Qin and 2 more

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Article in Brain topography, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

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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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Zihan Li *Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Lili Gu *Department of Pain, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Xiaofeng JiangDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Jiaqi LiuJiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Jiahao LiDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, China.
Yangyang XieDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Jiaxin XiongDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Huiting LvDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Wanqing ZouDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Suhong QinDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Jing LuDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
Jian JiangDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China. ndyfy02072@ncu.edu.cn.

Funding

the Clinical Research Center For Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province (No.20223BCG74001)the Key research and development plans of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology (Grant No. S2020ZPYFB2343)the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC3602202)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.81960313)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

PHN is one of the most common clinical complications of herpes zoster (HZ), the pathogenesis of which is unclear and poorly treated clinically, and many studies now suggest that postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) pain may be related to central neurologic mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the white matter structural networks and changes in the organization of the rich-club in HZ and PHN. Diffusion imaging (DTI) data from 89 PHN patients, 76 HZ patients, and 66 healthy controls (HCs) were used to construct corresponding structural networks. Using graph-theoretic analysis, changes in the overall and local characteristics of the structural networks and rich-club organization were analyzed, and their correlations with clinical scales were analyzed. Compared with HCs, PHN patients had reduced global efficiency (Eg), reduced local efficiency (Eloc), a reduced clustering coefficient (Cp), a longer characteristic path length (Lp), and reduced nodal efficiency (Ne) in several brain regions, including the right posterior cingulate gyrus, the right supraoccipital gyrus, the bilateral postcentral gyrus, and the right precuneus; HZ patients had reduced Eg, a longer Lp, and reduced right orbital frontalis suprachiasmatic Ne. Moreover, HZ and PHN patients showed a significant reduction in the strength of rich-club connections. Compared with HZ patients, the intensities of the rich-club and feeder connections were lower in the PHN patients. Moreover, the changes in the structural networks and rich-club organization topology indices of the patients in the HZ and PHN patients were significantly correlated with disease duration, pain scores, and emotional changes. The structural networks of HZ and PHN patients exhibited reduced network transmission efficiency and rich-club connectivity, possibly due to structural damage to the white matter, and this was more obvious in PHN patients. The rich-club connectivity of HZ patients showed incomplete compensation in the acute pain stage.

Indexed as

BrainHerpes ZosterNerve NetNeuralgia, PostherpeticWhite MatterAdultAgedDiffusion Tensor ImagingFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeural PathwaysDTIGraph Theory AnalysisNeuropathic painRich-clubStructural Network

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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.