title: Abnormalities in brain white matter in adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and psychotic symptoms.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) is considered to be a promising cohort to explore biomarkers of schizophrenia risk based on a 30 % probability of developing schizophrenia in adulthood. In this study, we investigated abnormalities in the microstructure of white matter in adolescents with 22q11DS and their specificity to prodromal symptoms of schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) data were acquired from 50 subjects with 22q11DS (9 with and 41 without prodromal psychotic symptoms), and 47 matched healthy controls (mean age 18 +/-2 years). DMRI measures, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were calculated and compared between groups using the Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) method. Additionally, correlations between dMRI measures and scores on positive symptoms were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reductions in MD, AD and RD (but not FA) were found in the corpus callosum (CC), left and right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and left and right corona radiata in the entire 22q11DS group. In addition, the 22q11DS subgroup with prodromal symptoms showed reductions in AD and MD, but no changes in RD when compared to the non-prodromal subgroup, in CC, right SLF, right corona radiata and right internal capsule. Finally, AD values in these tracts correlated with the scores on the psychosis subscale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microstructural abnormalities in brain white matter are present in adolescent subjects with prodromal psychotic symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1249 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. zora@bwh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Zora
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7203-1362
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kikinis
authors.affiliation: Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kang Ik K
authors.initials: KIK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ioana L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Coman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Petya D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Radoeva
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1249 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouix
authors.affiliation: Department of EEG and Imaging, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1249 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eckbo
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1249 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.|Psychiatry and Neurology Departments, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Makris
authors.affiliation: Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.|Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jun Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1249 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.|Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubicki
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Antshel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fremont
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1249 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.|Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.|VA Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Martha E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Shenton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Wendy R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Kates
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004062:DiGeorge Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D062706:Prodromal Symptoms; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS); Brain white matter; Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI); Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS); Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS)