title: Serum vitamin D and hippocampal gray matter volume in schizophrenia.
abstract: Disparate lines of evidence including epidemiological and case-control studies have increasingly implicated vitamin D in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to dysfunction of the hippocampus--a brain region hypothesized to be critically involved in schizophrenia. In this study, we examined for potential association between serum vitamin D level and hippocampal gray matter volume in antipsychotic-naïve or antipsychotic-free schizophrenia patients (n = 35). Serum vitamin D level was estimated using 25-OH vitamin D immunoassay. Optimized voxel-based morphometry was used to analyze 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (1-mm slice thickness). Ninety-seven percent of the schizophrenia patients (n = 34) had sub-optimal levels of serum vitamin D (83%, deficiency; 14%, insufficiency). A significant positive correlation was seen between vitamin D and regional gray matter volume in the right hippocampus after controlling for age, years of education and total intracranial volume (Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) coordinates: x = 35, y = -18, z = -8; t = 4.34 pFWE(Corrected) = 0.018). These observations support a potential role of vitamin D deficiency in mediating hippocampal volume deficits, possibly through neurotrophic, neuroimmunomodulatory and glutamatergic effects.
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Venkataram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shivakumar
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Sunil V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kalmady
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Anekal C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Amaresha
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Dania
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jose
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Janardhanan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Narayanaswamy
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Sri Mahavir
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Boban
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India. Electronic address: venkat.nimhans@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ganesan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Venkatasubramanian
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurovirology, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Vasanthapuram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ravi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Matcheri S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Keshavan
authors.affiliation: Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Bangalore N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Gangadhar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000502:physiology; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D014807:Vitamin D
keywords: Hippocampus; Schizophrenia; Vitamin D