A recent study conducted by scientists at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has revealed that therapy for insomnia can impact individuals with fibromyalgia by decelerating or even reversing the reduction in cortical gray matter. … Read more
A recent study conducted by scientists at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has revealed that therapy for insomnia can impact individuals with fibromyalgia by decelerating or even reversing the reduction in cortical gray matter. Initial results indicate that approximately eight weeks of cognitive-behavioral therapy, also referred to as CBT-I, may influence the structure of the central nervous system by decelerating or potentially reversing cortical gray matter atrophy in patients experiencing concurrent fibromyalgia.
From the study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, we found out that patients that have received CBT-I developed cortical thickness during and after the treatment, while the patients who were in the control group developed thinning of the cortex. Researchers also tried cognitive behavioral therapy for pain (CBT-P) but failed to produce the same or similar results as with cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia. CBT-P seemed to slightly reduce cortical atrophy, while CBT-I increased cortical thickness.
The study was conducted by analyzing data from a larger clinical trial about the efficacy of CBT-I and cognitive behavioral therapy for pain for fibromyalgia and insomnia. From 2009 to 2012, participants were used for a parent study, and some of them also underwent MRI before and after eight weeks of treatment. 37 patients were assigned to CBT-I, CBT-P or to a control group and interventions lasted for 8 weeks. The therapy consisted of 50-minute sessions with a trained therapist where patients were educated about sleep hygiene, stimulus control, autogenic relaxation, sleep restriction and similar. CBT-P consisted of pain education, how to do progressive muscle relaxation, visual imagery relaxation and so on.
The lead author of the study Christina McCrae concluded that CBT-I can reverse or resolve pain-related, neural plasticity and has essential implications for chronic pain sufferers. McCrae will also research the treatment of chronic pain using cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia, and particularly focus on improving sleep in women with fibromyalgia by promoting positive changes in how the brain processes and responds to pain.
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