White Matter Density in Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Their Unaffected Relatives

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.03.044

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 58, Issue 3, 1 August 2005, Pages 254-257

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.03.044 Get rights and content

Background

This study sought to assess white matter density in patients and relatives with histories of bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia.

Methods

Subjects included those with schizophrenia from families affected by schizophrenia alone, those with bipolar disorder from families affected by bipolar disorder alone and those with bipolar disorder from families affected by both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Unaffected relatives of the three patient groups were also recruited. Subjects underwent an MRI brain scan which was analyzed using a white-matter optimized technique.

Results

Subjects with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder showed reduced white matter density in the anterior limb of the internal capsule which was not found in unaffected relatives. Reductions were found in frontal subgyral white matter density in affected subjects with a family history of schizophrenia only.

Conclusions

Abnormal anterior internal capsule white matter may provide a structural substrate for both disorders.

Section snippets

Subjects

Recruitment procedures and patient characteristics are detailed elsewhere (McIntosh et al 2004). Briefly, patients with a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder were identified from hospital notes. Where patients were known to have at least one close relative with psychosis, the notes were retrieved and DSM-IV operational criteria were applied using the Operational Criteria Checklist (McGuffin et al 1991).

Patients with at least one first or second degree family member with

Results

Seventy four patients provided complete clinical data and near complete neuropsychological data and 71 patients provided a useable MRI scan of the brain. From the families of eligible patients, a further 160 unaffected family members were identified. Eighty relatives met study inclusion criteria and 72 provided a useable MRI scan of the brain. Fifty-four potential control subjects were identified and interviewed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, lifetime version

Discussion

White matter reductions were found in frontal subgyral and ALIC white matter in schizophrenic subjects compared to controls. Reductions in ALIC but not frontal subgyral white matter were found in bipolar patients from bipolar families. Areas of frontal subgyral white matter reduction were shown to be specific to patients with schizophrenia (Cabeza et al 2004). No white matter reductions relative to controls were found in the unaffected relatives of either schizophrenic or bipolar patients in

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Brief reportWhite Matter Density in Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Their Unaffected Relatives

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Subjects

Results

Discussion

NeuroImage

Neuroimage

Biological Psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry

Schizophrenia Research

Biological Psychiatry

Schizophrenia Research

Schizophrenia Research

Neuroimage

Biological Psychiatry

Brief report
White Matter Density in Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Their Unaffected Relatives