Abstract
Previous studies found that patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have increased pain threshold and pain tolerance. Nevertheless it is still unclear whether these findings are explained by communication problems, or rather they are associated with degenerative processes affecting pain-related cortex. In this neurophysiological study we aimed at assessing pain-related cortex function, by recording laser evoked potentials (LEPs) after hand stimulation in patients with AD. We enrolled 10 patients with a diagnosis of probable mild-to-moderate AD, recruited from the Alzheimer Evaluation Unit of “Sapienza” University of Rome. In all patients we recorded the SII-generated N1-LEP, and the N2–P2 complex of LEPs, generated in the insula and cingulate cortex. All patients also underwent the recording of Ab-fibre mediated somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP), after median nerve stimulation. LEP and SEP variables were compared with normative reference ranges, matched for age and gender. Whereas SEP variables, and the N1-LEP component came within reference values in all patients, the N2–P2 complex of LEP was dampened or absent in 7 patients. Our findings suggest that in patients with AD the degenerative processes affect pain-related cortex. This damage predominantly involves the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex.
Published Version
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