title: Duration of untreated psychosis is associated with temporal and occipitotemporal gray matter volume decrease in treatment naïve schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is associated with poor treatment outcome. Whether or not DUP is related to brain gray matter volume abnormalities in antipsychotic medication treatment naïve schizophrenia remains unclear at this time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with treatment-naïve schizophrenia and healthy controls went through brain scan using high resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging. DUP was evaluated using the Nottingham Onset Schedule (NOS), and dichotomized as short DUP (≤ 26 weeks) or long DUP (>26 weeks). Voxel-based methods were used for volumetric measure in the brain.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-seven patients (27 short DUP and 30 long DUP) and 30 healthy controls were included in the analysis. There were significant gray matter volumetric differences among the 3 groups in bilateral parahippocampus gyri, right superior temporal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and right superior frontal gyrus (p's<0.01). Compared with healthy controls, the long DUP group had significantly smaller volume in all these regions (p's <0.05). Compared with the short-DUP group, the long-DUP group had significantly smaller volume in right superior temporal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus (p's<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that DUP is associated with temporal and occipitotemporal gray matter volume decrease in treatment naïve schizophrenia. The brain structural changes in untreated psychosis might contribute to poor treatment response and long-term prognosis in this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, 3rd Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qinling
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xiaoduo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Yidong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Huafu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Jingping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult