Response to peripheral immune stimulation within the brain: magnetic resonance imaging perspective of treatment success

Chronic peripheral inflammation in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis leads to alterations in central pain processing and consequently to mood disorders resulting from sensitization within the central nervous system and enhanced vulnerability of the medial pain pathway. Proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha play an important role herein, and therapies targeting their signaling (i.e., anti-TNF therapies) have been proven to achieve good results. However, the phenomenon of rapid improvement in the patients' subjective feeling after the start of TNFα neutralizatio... Mehr ...