title: White matter abnormalities in long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid users: A pilot study.
abstract: Recent studies of long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) users reported amygdala structural and functional connectivity abnormalities. We assessed white matter microstructure in the inferior-fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), a major associative bundle of the amygdala network. Diffusion weighted images acquired from 9 male long-term AAS users and 8 matched controls aged 36-51 years old were processed using a standardized pipeline (Tract-Based Spatial Statistics). Group differences were examined using linear regression with adjustment for age and current testosterone level. Compared to nonusers, AAS users exhibited significantly higher fractional anisotropy (FA) in the IFOF. Users showed markedly greater FA than nonusers on the left IFOF but only a modest, nonsignificant difference on the right IFOF. Moreover, FA was positively associated with lifetime cumulative AAS dose. Our results suggest that long-term AAS use alters IFOF white matter organization and integrity, which in turn might affect amygdala-related processes such as reward system function. Accordingly, further studies are needed to replicate findings in larger subject groups to determine the functional significance of the FA abnormality.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seitz
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Lyall
authors.affiliation: Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kanayama
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Makris
authors.affiliation: Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: James I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 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: Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Harrison G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Pope
authors.affiliation: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill St., Belmont 02478, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: kaufman@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Marc J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kaufman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000728:Androgens / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D045165:Testosterone Congeners / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D045165:Testosterone Congeners
keywords: (4): Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS); Inferior-fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF); Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS)