title: Homogeneous magnetic resonance imaging of brain abnormalities in bipolar spectrum disorders comorbid with Wilson's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose was to determine if brain damage in Wilson's disease (WD) is different in comorbid bipolar spectrum disorders (BDs), comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) or without any mood disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  An observational study was conducted on consecutive patients from a center for WD care. The study sample was divided by psychiatric assessment into WD without any mood disorders, WD with BDs and WD with MDD negative at Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-eight WD patients were recruited (53.2% females): 21 without mood disorders (55.2%), 9 with comorbid BDs (26.7%) and 8 with MDD without MDQ+ (21.1%). The BDs showed a higher frequency of brain damage, reaching statistically significant differences in the basal ganglia (P<.001), in the overall brain (P<.003) and at the limit in the white matter (P<.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In WD, comorbidity with BDs is associated with earlier evidence of brain damage, especially in the basal ganglia. The results confirm the importance of screening and early diagnosis of BDs in WD. Future follow-up studies on large samples are required to confirm if detection of BDs may be an early marker of brain damage and if a good therapeutic response in BDs may improve the prognosis of WD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical and Molecular Medicine University of Cagliari, Italy, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: mgcarta@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Mauro Giovanni
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Carta
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria (A.O.U.), di Cagliari-Polo di Monserrato s.s. 554 Monserrato, Cagliari, 09045, Italy. Electronic address: lucasaba@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical and Molecular Medicine University of Cagliari, Italy, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: mfmoro@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria Francesca
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Moro
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria (A.O.U.), di Cagliari-Polo di Monserrato s.s. 554 Monserrato, Cagliari, 09045, Italy. Electronic address: ldemelia@pacs.unica.it.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Demelia
authors.affiliation: UOC of Gastroenterology, Azienda Ospedaliero - Universitaria, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: ldemelia@pacs.unica.it.
authors.forename: Orazio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sorbello
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical and Molecular Medicine University of Cagliari, Italy, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: mirra.pintus@hotmail.it.
authors.forename: Mirra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pintus
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical and Molecular Medicine University of Cagliari, Italy, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: pintuselisa@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pintus
authors.affiliation: International Mood Center, University of CA, San Diego, USA. Electronic address: tsimavorian@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tatevik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Simavorian
authors.affiliation: International Mood Center, University of CA, San Diego, USA. Electronic address: hakiskal@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Hagop
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akiskal
authors.affiliation: UOC of Gastroenterology, Azienda Ospedaliero - Universitaria, Cagliari, Italy. Electronic address: ldemelia@pacs.unica.it.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Demelia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000473:pathology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006527:Hepatolenticular Degeneration / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Basal ganglia; Bipolar spectrum disorders; Brain imaging; White matter; Wilson’s disease