Structural brain MRI abnormalities in healthy siblings of patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia.
OBJECTIVE
Childhood-onset schizophrenia shows progressive brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes during adolescence, which follow a back-to-front "wave." The authors' goal was to examine whether healthy siblings of patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia show structural brain abnormalities and the age-related pattern of abnormalities seen in patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia.


METHODS
Anatomic brain MRI scans were obtained from 15 psychiatrically healthy full siblings of 15 patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia and from 32 matched community volunteers. Automated measures were used to compare total and regional brain volumes of the siblings and volunteers.


RESULTS
Siblings of patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia had smaller total cerebral volume and total, frontal, and parietal gray matter volumes than volunteers. When divided into younger and older groups, younger siblings had smaller parietal gray matter volumes and older siblings showed trends for smaller total and frontal gray matter volumes.


CONCLUSIONS
Healthy siblings of patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia share brain MRI abnormalities with the patients that may follow a similar pattern of progression. Developmental brain abnormalities in childhood-onset schizophrenia may thus be genetic trait markers.
Gogtay
Nitin
N
Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, NationalInstitutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1600, USA. nitin@codon.nih.gov
Sporn
Alexandra
A
Clasen
Liv S
LS
Greenstein
Deanna
D
Giedd
Jay N
JN
Lenane
Marge
M
Gochman
Peter A
PA
Zijdenbos
Alex
A
Rapoport
Judith L
JL
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D035781:Siblings
D005819:Genetic Markers