title: Developmental abnormalities in striatum in young bipolar patients: a preliminary study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Marsal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanches
authors.forename: Roxsann L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Roberto B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Sassi
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Axelson
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hatch
authors.forename: Matcheri S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Keshavan
authors.forename: Neal D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Birmaher
authors.forename: Jair C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000002:abnormalities; D002648:Child; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000503:physiopathology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011699:Putamen / Q000002:abnormalities