Developmental abnormalities in striatum in young bipolar patients: a preliminary study
Marsal Sanches
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie L. Murphy Division, San Antonio, TX, USA
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo
Search for more papers by this authorRoxsann L Roberts
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Search for more papers by this authorRoberto B Sassi
Department of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorDavid Axelson
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorMark Nicoletti
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Search for more papers by this authorPaolo Brambilla
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Pathology and Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
Search for more papers by this authorJohn P Hatch
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Search for more papers by this authorMatcheri S Keshavan
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorNeal D Ryan
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorBoris Birmaher
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJair C Soares
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie L. Murphy Division, San Antonio, TX, USA
Department of Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
Search for more papers by this authorMarsal Sanches
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie L. Murphy Division, San Antonio, TX, USA
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo
Search for more papers by this authorRoxsann L Roberts
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Search for more papers by this authorRoberto B Sassi
Department of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorDavid Axelson
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorMark Nicoletti
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Search for more papers by this authorPaolo Brambilla
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Pathology and Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
Search for more papers by this authorJohn P Hatch
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Search for more papers by this authorMatcheri S Keshavan
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorNeal D Ryan
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorBoris Birmaher
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJair C Soares
Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie L. Murphy Division, San Antonio, TX, USA
Department of Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
Search for more papers by this authorThe authors certify that they do not have any commercial associations that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with this manuscript.
Abstract
Objectives: Anatomical abnormalities in the basal ganglia of adult mood disorder patients have been reported. To investigate whether these abnormalities are present early in illness course, we compared the volume of striatal structures in young bipolar patients and healthy controls.
Methods: Brain magnetic resonance images of 15 children and adolescents who met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorders and 21 healthy controls were obtained. Measurements were performed manually, by trained evaluators, who were blind to subjects’ diagnosis. The volumes of caudate and putamen were compared in patients and controls.
Results: The volumes of striatal structures were not significantly different in patients and controls (ANCOVA, p > 0.05). However, we found a significant inverse relationship between age and the volumes of left caudate (r = −0.72, p < 0.01), right caudate (r = −0.66, p = 0.02) and left putamen (r = −0.71, p = 0.01) in bipolar patients, not present in healthy controls.
Conclusions: Abnormalities in striatal development may be involved in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder.
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