title: Increased presence of white matter hyperintensities in adolescent patients with bipolar disorder.
abstract: Several reports have noted an increase in white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on MRI scans of adult patients with bipolar disorder. We investigated whether this increase was also evident in a group of adolescent patients with bipolar disorder. The sample consisted of 15 bipolar patients, 19 patients with schizophrenia and 16 healthy comparison subjects. All subjects were adolescents. WMH were blindly rated on T2-weighted and PD-weighted MRI scans using our own scale with documented inter-rater reliability. WMH were present in 10 of 15 bipolar patients (67%), seven of 19 patients with schizophrenia (37%) and five of 16 comparison subjects (31%). The bipolar adolescent group had a statistically significant increased presence of WMH compared both with healthy comparison subjects and the schizophrenic group. The association between WMH and bipolar disorder appears to extend to the adolescent years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Division of Neuroradiology, The Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. jpillai@mail.mcg.edu
authors.forename: Jay J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Pillai
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Traci A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Stuve
authors.forename: Sal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trinidad
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jesberger
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lewin
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Findling
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Swales
authors.forename: S Charles
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Schulz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis