[The neural basis underlying primary dysmenorrhea: evidence from neuroimaging and animal model studies]

Abstract

Primary dysmenorrhea (PDM), cyclic menstrual pain in the absence of pelvic anomalies, is characterized by acute and chronic gynecological pain disorders in childbearing age women. PDM strongly affects the quality of life of patients and leads to economic losses. PDM generally do not receive radical treatment and often develop into other chronic pain disorders later in life. The clinical treatment status of PDM, the epidemiology of PDM and chronic pain comorbidities, and the abnormal physiological and psychological characteristics of patients with PDM suggest that PDM not only is related to the inflammation around the uterus, but also may be related to the abnormal pain processing and regulation function of patients' central system. Therefore, exploring the brain neural mechanism of PDM is indispensable and important to understand the pathological mechanism of PDM, and is also a hotspot of brain science research in recent years, which will bring new inspiration to explore the target of PDM intervention. Based on the progress of the neural mechanism of PDM, this paper systematically summarizes the evidence from neuroimaging and animal model studies.