title: Accelerated white matter aging in schizophrenia: role of white matter blood perfusion.
abstract: Elevated rate of age-related decline in white matter integrity, indexed by fractional anisotropy (FA) from diffusion tensor imaging, was reported in patients with schizophrenia. Its etiology is unknown. We hypothesized that a decline of blood perfusion to the white matter may underlie the accelerated age-related reduction in FA in schizophrenia. Resting white matter perfusion and FA were collected using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling and high-angular-resolution diffusion tensor imaging, respectively, in 50 schizophrenia patients and 70 controls (age = 18-63 years). Main outcome measures were the diagnosis-by-age interaction on whole-brain white matter perfusion, and FA. Significant age-related decline in brain white matter perfusion and FA were present in both groups. Age-by-diagnosis interaction was significant for FA (p < 0.001) but not white matter perfusion. Age-by-diagnosis interaction for FA values remained significant even after accounting for age-related decline in perfusion. Therefore, we replicated the finding of an increased rate of age-related white matter FA decline in schizophrenia and observed a significant age-related decline in white matter blood perfusion, although the latter did not contribute to the accelerated age-related decline in FA. The results suggest that factors other than reduced perfusion account for the accelerated age-related decline in white matter integrity in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kochunov
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chiappelli
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muellerklein
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: S Andrea
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wijtenburg
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Rowland
authors.affiliation: Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: L Elliot
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D016880:Anisotropy; D001775:Blood Circulation; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ASL; Aging; Perfusion; Schizophrenia; White matter