title: Early detection of schizophrenia by diffusion weighted imaging.
abstract: A novel magnetic resonance imaging method was used to determine whether it is feasible to detect early signs of cortical atrophy among individuals who are at high risk for developing schizophrenia. Fifteen individuals at high-risk for schizophrenia and 15 of their first degree relatives diagnosed with schizophrenia were compared with controls (n=25) who did not have a family history of psychiatric illness or psychiatric hospitalizations. On the basis of a voxelwise analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps derived from diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging, these individuals showed evidence of deficits in four separate regions of the brain, all on the left side only: parahippocampal gyrus, lingual gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus. However, conventional volumetric quantification of ventricular space to detect atrophy failed to reveal differences between high-risk subjects and controls. It is concluded that ADC may be a more sensitive measure than ventricular volume assessments for use in future studies of early prediction of schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Department of Medical Physics, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA. DeLisi76@AOL.com
authors.forename: Lynn E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: DeLisi
authors.forename: Kamila U
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Szulc
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bertisch
authors.forename: Magda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Majcher
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Arthika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bappal
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Branch
authors.forename: Babak A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Ardekani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001284:Atrophy; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics