Functional Connectivity Alterations in ME/CFS: MRI Findings from a Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Observational Trial

Dr Guido Cammà provided a poster presentation summarising findings from a study which aimed to investigate structural and functional brain alterations using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in ME/CFS patients before and after receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The study found increased thalamic functional connectivity (FC) with motor, somatosensory, and visual regions, suggesting altered sensory and motor processing in ME/CFS patients. These connectivity alterations observed at baseline were largely normalised after HBOT, except for a small cluster of increased FC in the somatosensory cortex. The absence of volumetric changes suggests that ME/CFS symptoms may be more closely related to functional network changes rather than structural abnormalities.

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