Comparing fractional anisotropy in patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia, their healthy siblings, and normal volunteers through DTI.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diffusion tensor imaging is a neuroimaging method that quantifies white matter (WM) integrity and brain connectivity based on the diffusion of water in the brain. White matter has been hypothesized to be of great importance in the development of schizophrenia as part of the dysconnectivity model. Childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS), is a rare, severe form of the illness that resembles poor outcome adult-onset schizophrenia. We hypothesized that COS would be associated with WM abnormalities relative to a sample of controls.

Methods

To evaluate WM integrity in this population 39 patients diagnosed with COS, 39 of their healthy (nonpsychotic) siblings, and 50 unrelated healthy volunteers were scanned using a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) sequence during a 1.5 T MRI

SUBMITTER: Moran ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4266298 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature