title: Different white matter abnormalities between the first-episode, treatment-naive patients with posttraumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder without comorbid conditions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study compared brain white matter integrity in two groups of patients with DSM-IV anxiety disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 20 with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and 28 healthy controls were assessed on diffusion tensor imaging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As compared to healthy controls, increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in left superior frontal gyrus in PTSD patients, and increased FA in right postcentral gyrus in GAD subjects were exhibited. Furthermore, patients with PTSD showed reduced FA in right anterior cingulate gyrus relative to GAD subjects. However, there was no significant correlation between the FA value of any altered region and the severity of PTSD or GAD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The sample studied can be considered small. Gender and educational level were not well-matched among the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We tentatively speculate that abnormal white matter integrity of right anterior cingulate gyrus is an important neuroimaging marker of PTSD that distinguishes it from other anxiety disorders such as GAD.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lingjiang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zexuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Weihui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Cailan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000473:pathology*; D040701:Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute; D055815:Young Adult