title: BDNF Val66Met variants and brain volume changes in non-affective psychosis patients and healthy controls: a 3 year follow-up study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Functional gene polymorphisms modulating neuroplasticity might mediate brain longitudinal structural changes in schizophrenia. The present study aimed to explore possible effects of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism variations on progressive structural brain changes after 3 years from the first episode of psychosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were part of a large epidemiological and longitudinal intervention program of first-episode psychosis, carried out at the University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Cantabria, Spain. Eighty first-episode patients and 54 healthy controls were included in the final analyses. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (baseline and 3-year follow-up) and BDNF genotype, and clinical and functional outcome were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We did not detect significant association between brain changes and BDNF Val66Met polymorphism variations in patients and controls (all p>0.060). At baseline, there were no significant associations between brain anomalies and BDNF genotype. Functional deficits were similar in Met-carrier and Val homozygote patients after 3-year follow-up (X(2) = 0.66; p = 0.564); there was no relationship between significant volume change across time and functional outcome. Otherwise, Met-carrier controls had significant high rates of alcohol-consumption (p = 0.019) compared to Val homozygote controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings do not support the notion that BDNF genotype variations may mediate brain macroscopic morphological changes across time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain. p.suarez.pinilla@gmail.com
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Suárez-Pinilla
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roiz-Santiáñez
authors.forename: Victor Ortiz-García
authors.initials: VO
authors.lastname: de la Foz
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mata
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fañanas
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruíz-Pérez
authors.forename: Benedicto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crespo-Facorro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C579455:BDNF protein, human
keywords: BDNF; BPRS; CSF; DAS; Disability Assessment Schedule; FEP; First-episode psychosis; Follow-up, genetics; GM; HWE; Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium; Imaging genomics; Longitudinal; MRI; Magnetic resonance imaging; Met; SANS; SAPS; SNP; Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms; Scale for the Assessment of the Negative Symptoms; Val; WM; brain derived neurotrophic factor; brief psychiatric report scale; cortical cerebrospinal fluid; first episode of psychosis; gray matter; magnetic resonance imaging; methionine; single nucleotide polymorphism; valine; white matter