title: Preserved white matter in unmedicated pediatric bipolar disorder.
abstract: White matter (WM) abnormalities have been reported in bipolar disorder (BD) patients, as well as in their non-BD relatives, both children and adults. Although it is considered an emerging vulnerability marker for BD, there are no studies investigating WM alterations in pediatric unmedicated patients and young healthy offspring. In this study, we evaluated the presence of WM alterations in 18 pediatric, non medicated BD patients, as well as in 18 healthy offspring of BD type I parents and 20 healthy controls. 3T DT-MRI data were acquired and scans were processed with tract-based spatial statistics to provide measures of fractional anisotropy and diffusivity. We found no significant differences in WM microstructure between BD patients, healthy offspring and healthy controls. Previous studies that reported WM alterations investigated older subjects, either on medication (BD patients) or with psychiatric diagnoses other than BD (unaffected offspring). Our findings highlight the importance of the understanding of disease ontogeny and brain development dynamics in the search for early vulnerability markers for psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for the Support of Research in Applied Neuroscience, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: ana.arist@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ana Maria A
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kleinman
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for the Support of Research in Applied Neuroscience, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zanetti
authors.affiliation: Center for the Support of Research in Applied Neuroscience, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit (UPIA), Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jackowski
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for the Support of Research in Applied Neuroscience, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fábio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Duran
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for the Support of Research in Applied Neuroscience, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabrício
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Beny
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lafer
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for the Support of Research in Applied Neuroscience, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Geraldo F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Busatto
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for the Support of Research in Applied Neuroscience, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit (UPIA), Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sheila C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Caetano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Bipolar disorder; Children; DT-MRI; Offspring; White matter