Period pain = reshaped brain?? You gotta be kidding!!

Now we should be more than worried!

I guess-_-

Painful menstrual cramps take a physical toll on most women , now new research has revealed they can alter the structure of the brain as well.

Scientists who studied a group of women sufferers found evidence of dramatic reshaping, with some brain areas shrinking and others increasing in size.

Previous research had suggested menstrual cramps can trigger abnormal brain metabolism.

The new findings indicate the changes are long lasting, since they are seen even between painful episodes.

The affected parts of the brain consisted of 'grey matter' (GM) - brain tissue made up of nerve cell bodies as opposed to fibres. They are involved in the transmission and control of pain, as well as emotional responses.

Some of the changes are thought to inhibit pain while others may make it worse.

The 'substantial reorganisation' seen by scientists may also have emotional effects, contributing to anxiety and stress.

Researchers in Taiwan carried out brain scans on 32 patients with the period pain disorder primary dysmenorrhoea (PDM) and the same number of healthy women, and compared both sets of findings. The women were all aged around 24.

Lead scientist Professor Jen-Chuen Hsieh, from the Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, said: 'Our results demonstrate that abnormal GM changes were present in PDM patients even in the absence of pain. This shows that not only sustained pain but also cyclic occurring menstrual pain can result in longer-lasting central changes.'

The effects were likely to have the biggest impact on adolescents, whose brains were still not 'hard wired' and responsive to environmental change.

'Although the functional consequences remain to be established, these results indicate that the adolescent brain is vulnerable to menstrual pain,' said Prof Hsieh.

Further studies would be needed to investigate the link between pain and hormones and whether the changes are reversible, said the scientists, whose findings are reported in the journal Pain.