Alterations of White Matter Structure in Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review of Diffusion Tensor Imaging Studies

Background Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition with numerous and varied symptoms. Abnormal central pain processing underlies fibromyalgia, according to brain imaging studies. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) has effectively been used in pain research. In this research, we review studies that have used DTI for assessing white matter changes in patients with fibromyalgia. Method A systematic review on PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus was conducted. Studies using DTI were included if they had compared the white matter changes in patients with fibromyalgia with controls. Studies with other imaging techniques and with languages other than English were excluded. Results The analysis included the results of 10 articles in which 215 patients were examined with DTI. The findings revealed widespread white matter brain abnormalities in regions such as the thalamus, frontal cortex, corpus callosum, and global white matter organization. Discussion This review provides primary evidence of white matter organization changes in patients with fibromyalgia. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between these white matter changes and the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia, as well as to develop more effective treatment strategies for this debilitating condition.