title: Decreased cortical thickness in drug naïve first episode schizophrenia: in relation to serum levels of BDNF.
abstract: This study was to examine cortical thickness in drug naïve, first episode schizophrenia patients, and to explore its relationship with serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Forty-five drug naive schizophrenia patients and 28 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Freesurfer was used to parcellate cortical regions, and vertex-wise group analysis was used for whole brain cortical thickness. The clusters for the brain regions that demonstrated group differences were extracted, and the mean values of thickness were calculated. Serum levels of BDNF were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). After controlling for age and gender, significantly thinner cortical thickness was found in left insula and superior temporal gyrus in the patient group compared with the healthy control group (HC group) (p's < 0.001). Lower serum levels of BDNF were also found in the patient group compared with the HC group (p = 0.001). Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between thickness of left insula and serum levels of BDNF within the HC group (r = 0.396, p = 0.037) but there was no such relationship within the patient group (r = 0.035, p = 0.819). Cortical thinning is present in drug naïve, first episode schizophrenia patients, indicating neurodevelopmental abnormalities at the onset of schizophrenia. Left insula might be an imaging biomarker in detecting the impaired protective role of neurotrophic factor for the brain development in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China. Electronic address: sxqzhll@126.com.
authors.forename: Xueqin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Meina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.affiliation: Henan Province Biological Psychiatry Key Laboratory, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China; Henan Province Mental Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China.
authors.forename: Luxian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.affiliation: UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.affiliation: UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ziedonis
authors.affiliation: UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA. Electronic address: Xiaoduo.fan@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Xiaoduo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
keywords: BDNF; Cortical thickness; First episode schizophrenia